Eternal Weaving
by Fantasy Cat
Summary: Olivia was only meant to play a small part in the war. She wasn't meant to be the one carrying the secret weapon. Now two groups fight for what she will soon possess. IT'S OVER! NO FOOLING! Smile P/O lovers! :
1. Prologue

_Well here it is, the big multichap summer project I've been bragging about writing for months. Now having watched the entire season, we'll see how this story plays out since I've had this plotbunny in the back of my head since the show's early months. Dunno how long I will keep up with updates though. The early chaps are gonna be hard for me to plan but the middle and ending should hopefully get easier._

_And as promised...plenty of Peter/Olivia. Trust me, it will be big in this story once you see where it's going. :)_

**Disclaimer:**_**Fringe**_** is not owned by me. Sad, I know**

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_**Prologue**_

"Guinevere".

William Bell took the frail hand into his own. He kissed it in the darkness. The old woman lived near isolated in this darkened apartment, but could occasionally thrive in the outside world when needed.

In the dark she often watches the world through her mind. It could only travel so far though. Yet without having to leave her apartment at the very top of Tower One, she witnessed the whole meeting between William and a young blonde woman who only piqued her interest.

A groggy voice called to Bell. "Who was she? The woman you called to meet you?"

"One of my own," said Bell. "I couldn't believe it. I thought it would be impossible to find any of them but this one was different. She came to me all on her own."

"She's special then?"

Bell laughed to himself. "I think that would be quite an understatement."

There was a long silence as Guinevere began to contemplate on this woman whom she had yet to meet though with her abilities, Guinevere felt as if she had known this…Olivia Dunham all her life. Her mind took in everything she could gather about Olivia at her meeting with Bell.

"I think…I think she will be perfect for the experiment."

Bell was shocked. "Guinevere! Are you of this…I mean, it would be too much for her. She's already a Cortexiphan soldier."

"That makes her better than perfect than, don't you agree? Do you not wish for me to live on so that you may have your secret weapon?"

"Of course, Guinevere. More than anything. But you know that with all of our planning…with all of our projects. This will take quite a while before we're ready. You won't be able to make it. You only have a few years left."

The frail woman coughed, only confirming how little time she had left in this world. "Then the sooner you do this, the better. She will do, William. If you start this as soon as possible, there will be time for a complete transfer."

Bell shook in excitement but also concern. He wasn't sure if he can put anymore of his work on one of his subjects. Yet it didn't matter now. She knew of his work and this world. She knew what was ahead of her. Guinevere was right, this was their only chance for the secret weapon to live…for the Pattern to remain in their complete control.

"If you are sure of this, then," he sighed. "I fear she won't participate in this willingly."

"Then do what you do best, William." The old woman was smiling mischievously in the dark and Bell knew it. "Deceive and corrupt. There will be time for explanations in the future."

So that was it, William thought. He had to lure and trick Olivia Dunham to be the one to carry the secret weapon. It wouldn't be for very long. Therefore, sooner would be better…especially with the small amount of time that Guinevere had.

"You said that Dr. Jones almost crossed over here to try and kill me," Bell replied. "Do you suppose they're waiting for the transfer to happen?"

"Of course," said Guinevere. "But we will have the upper half from day one. Once you have Miss Dunham become the carrier, we will be invincible. You know without me in some form, they won't have a chance at defeating us in the war. They wouldn't dare harm any of us if they knew that the transfer would begin soon. They'll try to steal yes, but this…Olivia Dunham you speak of. She wouldn't allow it. I'm sure of it."

"So do I," said Bell.

"You must go then and start planning then." Guinevere coughed again, damning her failing health. "Good God, it's now taken me this long for me to finally feel like my age."

"Don't be silly dear," said Bell as he headed towards the door. "You might be 145 years old, but you are still quite young and lovely to me."

Guinevere chuckled. "Come now, Bell. We both know that, technically speaking, I'm far older than that."

Bell left Guinevere to rest as he began planning. It was true what she said, William Bell could be quite a deceitful being when need be. There wasn't any greater proof that his colleague Walter Bishop. He was such a gullible partner, Bell was able to convince him that much of the research they did was all in good fun. He was unaware that a few particular tests they did had a far greater purpose in mind (and a greater history).

Yet behind this dark being, there was a cinch of remorse. Olivia Dunham was indeed quite special to be the only soldier (so far) with awareness of the Pattern, of the war, and now of this other world. Therefore, there could be no turning back with her. She had to be the one to do this…to be the carrier.

The only true risk was if the war started earlier than predicted. It was quite a possibility but if he planned his cards right, this could be better than perfect. The new 'secret weapon' could be far more powerful than Guinevere herself could ever be.

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_Yeah, sorry prologue's all I got so far. I'm trying not to spoil where this is headed. That's why alot of it's ambiguous. More to come as soon as I can think of it!_


	2. Just a setup

_**Wow...I wasn't expecting so many responses/alerts for one little prologue. I must be pretty good at bringing in an audience. Heh. No if only my writing would get better. Believe me it's hard to write when you're ill but I'm willing to tough it out for the fans. This wasn't an easy chapter to write. I guess I have difficulty with setups.**_ _**Thanks for the reviews though, they're awesome.**_

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Olivia already had more than enough problems to take on…and there wasn't even a new case to add to the mix. Aside from her unexplainable crossing into the other world and her meeting with Bell…inside a building that wasn't supposed to no longer exist…she still hadn't heard anything from Rachel or Bella.

She assumed when she returned from dealing with the recent cases involving "the other side" that they had gone out somewhere for the day. It was strange how Rachel was able to afford to leave the apartment on occasion with her daughter in tow as she was unemployed at the time.

But now Olivia realized how foolish she was to not have realized it. Rachel had packed her bags and ran off with Ella. It was the only explanation as Ella's toys and books were gone as well. It didn't surprise her though that her baby sis would do something so reckless and possibly dangerous. On the other hand, she had to commend her sister for not giving in to Greg's demand for custody, but still, running away? Olivia was freakin' FBI. She had the ability to help them win the case if need be.

Her only hope now was that Charlie or the other Agents would continue to try and locate the mother and daughter pair in any way they could. But knowing that her sister was FBI, Rachel would have found clever ways of not leaving her tracks behind.

Knowing that and that she would endanger her daughter like this only made Olivia's blood boiled over the weeks as nothing seemed to progress. Much to her relief, there have been few cases to solve and little need to travel to the lab. She would often spend her time in her little cubicle at the Bureau, if not tracking down her sibling, then merely doing random paper to keep herself occupied.

She heard a knock at her office door but did not bother to pay heed. At around 9pm when the Bureau was winding down for the night it could only be either Charlie dropping in to say goodbye or it was Broyles coming in to badger her about mindlessly staying in the office later into the night than necessary.

It was neither.

"This again huh?" said the voice.

Olivia looked up feeling irritated but not surprised as she went back to her work.

"Where's Walter?"

Peter slouched himself into the chair in front of her desk. "He left me a note at the office saying he went to a movie…by himself."

"And you believe him?"

Peter's eyes were looking at the drawers against the wall. "I do now. It scares me I know."

Olivia knew what Peter was hoping to get up for but she had to stop him. "It's empty, Peter. I haven't had time to go to the liquor store and stock up."

"Damn," Peter said to himself. "You knew that's what I came all the way in here for?"

"Of course not," she said.

"So…any word from Rachel yet?"

Olivia dropped the papers she looked at on her desk and sighed. "No. I still can't believe she would do this. She didn't even think about how this would affect Ella. Does she really think that she could spend the rest of her life on the run with a child?"

"Maybe she'll come to her senses, Liv," Peter assured her.

"No, she won't. I think this is my fault. I've been so busy with all of these cases, that she probably thought I was ignoring everything going on with her and Greg. I really don't want to think about it right now. Not until I hear something."

Peter sighed. "I'm sorry, Liv,"

"No, it's alright. I'm actually hoping that we get a new case soon. I kinda miss the lab."

"Which part? Gene or the slimy eels that Walter's been gathering?"

"All of it," she said smiling. It nearly made Peter blush to see his own ability to bring a smile to her face with the smallest bit of sarcasm. Their eyes seemed to lock in on each other for one brief moment. Time had allowed them to almost read each other minds. She had a long boring day and Peter just had a boring day and a need to drink obviously. Any concern of her going out with Peter on occasion for a friendly drink by others in the Bureau were absent tonight which was unusual for her.

But before she could open her mouth and make this risky unusual request, her phone rang. She looked at the Caller ID. Unknown Caller. Her heart started skipping beats as she kept looking up at Peter and back at her phone. Even Peter was having trouble holding his breath as this could not possibly be a case-related phone call.

"Rachel?" Olivia asked as she answered. There was silence in the room and then "I'm sorry, who is this?" Peter became very suspicious as he tried to listen in but he couldn't hear who the voice was on the other end of her cell.

"No. Wait. Who are you?"

Olivia slammed her phone shut after that in frustration. "Dammit!"

Peter looked worried. "What was that about?"

"He claims to have information on Z.F.T.?"

"What? Who?!"

"The man on the phone. He told me to meet with him in an hour."

Peter shook his head. "You can't be serious. You met William Bell, the guy in charge of Z.F.T. He told you everything about it, right?"

"Only as much as he was willing to tell me."

"So what does this guy have to tell you that's so important?"

"He said, whoever he was…he said that Bell was setting Walter up…for something. I don't know what."

At that moment, Olivia got up and reached for her coat. Peter nearly leaped over to stop her. "Whoa. You can't be serious about meeting some guy calling you out of the blue. It's not even case-related."

"But he knows about Z.F.T. and he knows that Bell's connected to it. He knows your father, Peter. How many people do you think could possess that kind of credibility?"

"I still don't trust this guy."

"I don't either," said Olivia. "For all I know he could be tricking all of us. Trying to set all of us up against Bell. I'll just have to observe this guy when I get there."

Peter grabbed Olivia by the arm lightly. "You mean when WE get there."

She sighed. "Of course."

Peter smirked as she followed her out of the office. Never had he been so grateful to make a surprise visit to her office than he did tonight.

~*~*~*~

Guinevere marveled at the glass tube and its contents. "It's beautiful, William."

Bell smirked. "It doesn't look any different from the others you've seen. I think this is our most accurate copy, though." Bell took a tiny straw and inserted into the tube. The liquid inside turned from clear to a neon blue. "This should do the trick," he said. "Provided that nothing bad happens to it."

"It's time then?" the old woman asked. "You have a plan to get this in her?"

"I do have a plan. But I won't be able to perform the procedure myself. It would get through to Walter if Miss Dunham knew I was behind this. We need someone else to do it."

"Well…" Guinevere coughed. "My assistant could..."

Bell scoffed at her suggestion. "You mean, Mark? I didn't realize he was even capable of following orders."

"He's a doctor, William. I take it that the young lady has never met him so we should have no problem. He'll want to assemble his own team though."

"Of course he will," said Bell. "This time though, let's hope he doesn't end up beating another person to death."

~*~*~*~

They arrived at the dock exactly when their caller expected them too. It seemed like the perfect hour for such a meeting as it was pitch black with the exception of the city lights in the distance and it was quiet. They were in a rarely used area of the Boston coastline where the water had become too shallow for boats to frequently travel.

"Okay," said Olivia. "Here I go, so you…"

She stopped to looked at Peter they both shared the same look, one that screamed 'don't be serious' to Olivia.

She laughed to herself and shook her head. "Oh, who am I kidding?"

Then Peter laughed with her. "Yeah, you know me better than that now."

"Just get out of the car if you're coming with me," Olivia said rolling her eyes at him. Peter stepped out of the car quite proud of himself, knowing that she would probably never order him to stay in the car ever again.

Although it was dark, Mark could see two shadows stepping out of the car from both sides. He began to curse in his mind knowing that she didn't come alone. But thankfully it was just one other person. He would have to quickly improvise the plan he was given in his mind.

He watched the two of them look the opposite way as to observe their surroundings. He quickly got out a flashlight and lifted it up until the light captured Olivia. She and Peter turned around to face him.

Mark didn't even flinch when Olivia pulled out her gun and pointed it at him, but merely lifted his arms up in the air to signal that he was indeed unarmed.

"You didn't come alone like I asked," Mark said. His voice expressed his annoyance at the situation. "Guess I shouldn't be so surprised. I rather expected it actually."

Olivia crept closer to Mark with Peter following closely behind. He heard rustling coming from the side and although it was too dark to see anything, Peter could detect movement that was neither his nor Olivia's.

But Olivia seemed to catch on quickly. She turned to Mark and said "you're not alone either, are you?"

Before she could wait for a response. She heard Peter yell loudly. "Shit." Olivia immediately whirled around and pointed the gun at the two men who had jumped Peter and had now knocked him unconscious.

"Stop!" called Mark. Olivia turned and saw five other jumping out from behind aiming guns at Olivia's direction. Several of the men joined the ones who were trapping the unconscious Peter to the ground.

"So is that it?" said Olivia. "You know he's Dr. Bishop's son?"

"What are you talking about?!" Mark said in his rather annoyed tone.

Olivia's eyes kept darting back and forth between Mark and an unmoving Peter. "You said that Walter Bishop was being set up."

Mark laughed at her. Bishop was a random name I stumbled upon in your file.

"My file?"

Olivia sensed two gunmen were now trying to jump Olivia from behind but Mark caught her looking. "I wouldn't or else your friend gets it. Now drop your gun."

The temptation to smack down the two potential jumpers would not cease but Olivia saw Peter was in a helpless situation. Even though she could fight the two gunmen off, the others had their guns ready to kill Peter. She didn't have a choice she let the gun slip quietly from her hands into the ground.

"We couldn't care less about him," said Mark as Olivia was grabbed and pinned down to the ground. "We came here for you."

As one of Mark's team knocked Olivia out with the butt of his gun, he had to reevaluate what to do with her friend. Damn Bell, he didn't want anyone to get hurt…or be more involved than necessary. But if it were really up to Mark, well…

"We'll have to take this guy with us as well," Mark called out to his team. "Hopefully he'll be out as long as her till we finish this."

Mark lifted his flashlight out to the water turning it on and off signaling the boat in the distance. A small light from the boat signaled back.

It was time for the plan to take motion.

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_**Btw, if you hate cliffhangers, you WILL hate this story. I warn you now! Haha!**_


	3. Before and after procedure

_**I got bored so here's another chapter for you to sink your brains into. Don't expect these chaps to come out like candy though as I probably will be too occupied this weekend to add more. We'll see. This already feels so awkward for me to write, I dunno why. I feel like my writing skills seem to have disintegrated lately. Oh well.**_

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Mark knew it was fragile. So much, in fact, that his hands were shaking just opening the refrigerated device the tube had been stored in. He had to take deep breaths as he cautiously pulled it out. The neon blue liquid continued to swim. It would jellify once the transfer's completed.

"Doctor?" Mark nearly jumped at the sound. Thank god he had a good grip on the tube or Bell would've killed him.

"Dammit, what is it?!"

He turned to one member of his team no longer wearing his camouflage shirt and pants but instead was wearing doctor scrubs. "We're ready for the procedure."

"Alright," Mark sighed. "We're gonna need about an hour to do this. But standard procedure might require her to remain lying down for at least 6 hours. You'll have to inject her with a paralyzing drug so that she doesn't move. 5.3 mg should be sufficient enough without causing any damage."

"Doctor, I've studied these kinds of transplants before. Wouldn't you normally require at least two of those things?"

"This one is going to be enough," Mark assured the man knowing he was referring to the tube he held. "Wait and see."

~*~*~*~

Peter felt like shit.

But after taking a few minutes to clear his mind, he decided it was still better than having copper wires shoved up his nose.

The room he found himself in was empty and all steel. Various pipes hung from the ceiling and only a small ceiling light was for him but he knew its time was running out. He could tell by the small circular window in the room that he had to be on some sort of shipping freighter…and judging by the rusting of the steel and the mold that was creeping into certain corners of the room, a very old one.

He couldn't see any of the Boston skylights through the window, which was a bad thing because it meant he was far out into the water. Yet for some reason he could hear no engines running throughout the old ship.

It was time to figure out how to break out of this room he had been locked in. Judging by the aging of the door, it shouldn't be too hard. Yet Peter could still hear footsteps passing back and forth sparingly on the other side. He couldn't just break it down first. He had enough of surprise attacks for the night. Lucky for him, he always carried copper wired for such occasions. Still the large size and material of the door worried him as he was unsure if his trusty "keys" could undo the lock.

As he struggled with the lock work, his had a new main concern in mind, and that was Olivia. Peter knew nothing of what had happened to her after he blacked out. Was she on the boat with all of them? Did she escape? He didn't want to delve too deeply into the matter and kept hoping that it was the latter.

A faint clicking sound confirmed that Peter was finally getting somewhere with the lock. He began pushing on the door handle carefully and much to his relief it started moving. The timing was perfect too, as there were no guards present. The hallway he stepped into was unusually dark. But he could still hear people. Carefully he proceeded toward the noise and peering around the corner he saw the men that jumped him and knocked him out. They were now carrying equipment up the stairs to the deck of the freighter. One of the devices he could've sworn was an ultrasound machine.

That Mark bastard came into the picture as well.

"She's cleaned up and back in the clothes she came in, Doctor."

"Good. Let's start getting the boats ready and head out then."

"I don't think we can just leave her here."

"She won't be able to move for about four more hours. That should be enough time for us to clean out this place and we'll be long gone by then."

"And her friend?"

"He should still be unconscious, yes? I suppose we can leave his door unlock so he won't be stuck here either."

Peter smirked. Those idiots didn't hit him hard enough obviously or else he would still be out in the dark.

"DOCTOR! MARK!"

A man came rushing back down the stairs.

"They found us! I dunno how but they have a boat! They're coming this way!!!"

"Dammit!" Mark cried. "Forget the equipment, start shooting at them and prepare the boats!"

Peter watched as the team began to scramble. Soon nearly every one of them was grabbing a gun and running up to the deck. All of them, except for Mark.

As soon as the hallway cleared, Peter turned and followed Mark as he stepped into a lighted room. The panic seemed to be sweating from his pores as the noise of the shootout on deck commenced, but Mark simply ignored the noise.

Peter peeked into the room and saw him still panicky. There was bed in the corner and Mark was standing over it looking panicky.

And in the bed, seemingly unmoving, was Olivia herself.

Mark felt himself being yanked from where we stood and was swung against a wall by Peter. But he punched him and shoved him to ground. He began to wrestle Peter but he flipped Mark into the direction of a medical tray in the room that came crashing down on him.

When Peter attacked him again. Mark quickly kicked the tray to fend off Peter but he merely leaped at him grabbing his neck and pinned him to the ground.

"What did you do?!"

Mark squealed. "We have to get out…now!"

Peter tightened the grip on Mark's neck. "What did you do to her, you son of a bitch!"

Mark began to cough out his words. "It was…it was for the greater good. You must…trust…"

"You Bastards." Peter let his grip go and looked down at him coldly. "I've heard that one from you guys too many times to count! Do you think I'm gonna fall for it again?!"

Peter felt a blow hit him hard to one side of his face. Mark was seemingly good at swinging a punch from out of nowhere. But Peter still overpowered him as he punched back.

"Augh. Peter?"

His froze at the very sound. Not even the gunshots above him were registering in his brain as he looked instantly towards the bed. That familiar moan, which was her own, was the most heartbreaking but relieving voice he ever heard.

Mark was forgotten, left in the dust, as Peter rushed over. She was slowly gaining consciousness, gaining awareness, but she found herself painfully immobile. Her eyes were looking up at Peter's. A very uncomfortable mix of pain, fear, and confusion for the both of them.

Peter's arm reached around her back in an attempt to lift her up, but she only cringed from the pain. "Dammit," he cursed under his breath.

Mark panicked. "She can't be on this ship when they get here."

Peter turned to yell at the man he almost forgot was in the room. "What the hell are you talking about?!" He remained unmoving from Olivia's side as he watched Mark peer out into the hallway looking both sides.

"Don't take the front steps up," he said. "We can slow them down if you go down the hallway. There's a stairway that will take you to the back of the ship. There should be a lifeboat on that side waiting for you."

"Tell me what the hell is going on first!" Peter demanded. "You drag us out here and now you want us to escape?! I want some goddamn answers from you!"

"There will be time for that, soon enough."

Mark had disappeared from the room and started running down the hallway before Peter could yell at that son of a bitch to come back.

But there was nothing more Peter could do now. Like hell, did he want himself or Olivia to still be on this cursed boat if more of these bastards were on their way.

He scooped Olivia out of the bed and into his arms. But having to bend her back slightly, Olivia began to cry out.

"I can't do anything, Peter! It hurts," she moaned.

"I know," Peter said with pain in his voice from having to hear her suffer. "Just hang in there."

He carried her out and saw the darkened hallway Mark suggested to him. It was very long and seemingly unending compared to the quick getaway he could take by turning the corner and taking the stairs that were right there. But the various noises began to occur from above the ship.

Whoever these bastards were, they had already gotten on board.

So Peter really didn't have a choice.

He moved as quickly as he could down the dark maze with holding on to Olivia like dear life. She in turn was fighting every temptation to scream out from the pain raging through every muscle within her.

He nearly tripped when his foot hit something. It was a step the first of many up a complex stairway.

The sound of footsteps entering the inside of the shipped echoed down the hall alarming Peter. He cautiously made his way up. When Peter reached the top, there was nothing but ceiling until he felt a notch and slowly lifted it open.

He peeked out and saw the new batch of men with guns making their way inside the freighter through the front end. Once Peter saw all of them disappear from the deck, he quickly pulled himself and Olivia up into the deck.

Peter looked everywhere but could not any form of lifeboat left on the deck that was promised to the two of them, which only made him grind his teeth. Then he looked out into the water and saw a measly little life raft floating unoccupied near the ship's hull.

"This is gonna hurt, Liv," he warned her. He carried her to the edge of the ship and in one fell swoop, Peter plunged, holding Olivia tighter than he ever had in his life.

But she slipped out his grip when they hit the freezing water. She cried out both for air and pain when she resurfaced. Her back seem to straightened up by itself knowing that it was the only position that did not give her pain and now she was floating on her back. However the water was still ice cold. It did nothing for her paralyzed form except pierce every part of her with a new wave of immense pain.

Peter was feeling the cold when he resurfaced as well. Tugging at the back of Olivia's shirt collar, he was able to pull her and himself out of the waters and into the life raft, where only exhaustion and pain waited for them.

The men who now inside the freighter meanwhile found all of the rooms empty. They did find one empty window and looking out, into the distance was Mark swimming back to short.

He was barely able to escape the range of bullets flying at him.

He reached shore successfully and in a quick amount of time. Looking out towards the waters, he could see familiar looking life raft floating away from the freighter. Two individuals were no doubt inside. Mark wasn't sure but could only hope that it was the two of them, Olivia and her friend escaping.

There wasn't much time left now. Mark pulled out a remote device from his coat and could only hope that it was still working despite being exposed to water.

The men on the ship were unaware that in one of the rooms, a massive storage of detonation devices were set up ready to destroy the freighters remnants longer after Olivia and Peter left the ship but since there was some unpleasant now occupying the ship…

…Mark pressed the button.

Peter didn't know what the hell was happening but on reflex he found himself hovering over Olivia while flaming debris began raining down on them. Fortunately, only small particles were hitting the raft. But it was already too much to unnerve Peter who was doing the best he could to shield Olivia from the particles.

He looked back to the freighter, now no more than a melting spectacle of steel and fire slowly sinking into the water.

He heard Olivia muttered "damn". Peter didn't know if she was responding to the pain or the explosion.

"You okay, Liv?"

All Peter got in return for his concern was a slight "ugh". They were both exhausted and if it were up to them, they would lie there in the raft and hope it floated the both of them back to shore by morning. After all, they were only about 3 or four miles out, but there was barely a tide out tonight and Olivia was already in pain and shivering. Peter leaned over the raft and did his best to push it forward to shore, cursing that son of a bitch Mark for not leaving them an oar at the very least.

Mark watched the raft as it got closer and closer to the shoreline. He could confirm Olivia was in the raft and gave a huge sigh of relief. His work was finished for now and so he disappeared.

The whole plan almost fell to bits but he wasn't surprised that everything worked out. He liked keeping a set of bombs handy for possible situations like this.

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_**Me liking the new alerts and reviews! It shows me you're interested.**_


	4. The signs, wrong and right

_**The magic of boredom has struck me once again. Damn was this chapter ever a killjoy to write for me. I'm hoping it's gonna get easier once I get to the parts I'm more excited about writing. Of course it would've been easier to start in the middle but then it would've made less sense.**_ _**In fact I may get started on the next chapter tonight. It's gonna be a very boring summer for me anyway (and for Fringe to return) which is the only reason why I'm bothering to let this plotbunny come out and play haha!**_

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"She fell into the water?! Damn it, Mark. That could've compromised everything!" Bell was enraged, but Mark stood his ground.

"I didn't have much of choice. Ziegler tracked our group at the freighter, sent a fully armed team after us. I lost 3 of my men in that shootout. We're fortunate that she got out herself."

Mark watched as Bell helplessly paced the room. "But now we have no way to know if either of them is okay."

"It takes a few weeks for the results to show up, anyway. We'll have to give this some time."

"I'm not a patient man," said Bell. "Guinevere needs this now or everything's lost. We can't afford to start over."

"I'm sure it's not harmed," said Mark. "In the meantime I need to look into how Ziegler found us. For all we know, he might've learned that Olivia is the carrier."

"Let's for your sake…mostly…that he doesn't know," Bell threatened. Mark merely let the threat pass his ears like white noise. He was certain there was nothing to worry about.

~*~*~*~

The morning sun was seeping its way into the hospital and Peter knew then that he had been waiting in that damn lobby for much longer than necessary.

He was rather shocked to find Olivia walking down the hallway, still in the drenched clothes she had been shivering to near death in all of the night prior.

Peter rushed up to her and grabbed her arm gently. "Hey…so…did they find anything?"

Olivia was hesitant and shook her head. "I don't understand it either. All the doctors found was that I was injected with a paralyzing drug. I spent the entire night lying flat on my back."

"But that doesn't make any sense, dammit? Why would those bastards go through all of that trouble just to cripple you for a few hours?"

"I don't know either, Peter." Olivia sighed, trying to shake off the fear and frustration. "Do you remember how much time passed between when you were knocked out and when you found me?"

"I dunno," said Peter. "I can only assume maybe…an hour or two at most. They could've done anything to you in that matter of time."

"I know," Olivia said sadly. "I don't want to think about it now. Let's just go home."

"They could have injected you with some sort of invisible poison. Something that wouldn't show up on blood tests for days. Walter would know about hidden medical secrets like that, obviously."

"Thanks for your concern, Peter. But really…I just want to go home now."

"Fine," Peter sighed. Olivia tried to lead the way out of the hospital but her entire self was still a bit numb, sore, from the drug. The instant Peter saw her leaning forward, he caught her, arm around the waist. He cursed the doctors in this hospital for releasing Olivia so early but he knew that Olivia would no doubt request a quick release from the hospital…as she hated having her whole body trapped for hours by incredible pain.

He was a bit relieved, however that Olivia wanted nothing more now THAN to go home and rest.

On the drive back to Peter's hotel, Peter continued to badger her about her condition.

"No headaches? Dizziness?"

"It's been about an hour since I started feeling my limbs again, Peter."

"I'm just saying, it could be anything. So if you start feeling the slightest pain or sick for any reason, I wouldn't rule it out."

"I won't," said Olivia. They arrived at Peter's place at that moment and Peter did not know whether or not to believe Olivia would follow through with staying alert.

Peter looked at Olivia, one more time, eyes fierce with seriousness. "Just call me…just call me if you feel anything remotely wrong."

Olivia gave a slight nod in agreement as she watched Peter walk out and back to his hotel. She wasn't trying to ignore this situation at all. She was just as scared and worried as Peter was. But coping with pain was one of the things she did bet.

No matter what these guys did to her, she would be ready for it.

~*~*~*~

After a day of resting, nothing had changed. The numbness and pain were gone. Olivia was feeling physically relieved.

But there were still no new cases and the worry of what those men did to her the other night had been plaguing her entire day's rest.

She went to lab anyway. She wasn't hoping to find any answers today but she did needed to talk to Walter about how the mysterious caller new about him or Bell or even about Z.F.T. If anything that concerned her more than her physical state.

"Olivia!" Walter happily greeted her. He was surprised to see her in the lab on an off day. (Astrid was taking her day off, after all). Peter was only slightly surprised but a relieved that she had come by. "My son tells me you had a rough night? You shouldn't be swimming at the harbor so late at…"

"Dammit, Walter. Can't you remember anything I told you? I said we were kidnapped! Those people did something to Olivia, injected her with something. I just know it!"

Olivia kept her calm. "Walter, I was wondering if there was anyone else you might have known that knew about…well I know it's hard for you to remember but the man who trapped us, he knew your connection with Bell and Z.F.T."

"Bell had plenty of associates outside of the lab," said Walter as he went up to brush Gene's hair. "But I can't say the same for me. My life and my companionships were made in here mostly."

Peter looked at his father with the cow and said "Yeah…it shows."

"Did Bell at least ever talked about you outside of the lab?" she asked him.

"Good heavens, no! He rarely wishes to associate himself with me out in public unless it deals with something that I know I did in the world of science. I say Bell was quite a credit whore. Not the kind of whore who treats kindly cause she hopes you tip more like the kind who only does it with you in the dark. I hate those kind and I would know so because I…"

"Okay, Walter! None of that!" Peter cried. "Can we find out what these people did to Olivia, please?!"

"It could be a number of things boy," said Walter. He was about to open his mouth but Olivia beat him to it. "He's right, Peter. If they didn't anything at the hospital but the fact that they gave me a paralyzing drug…"

Walter was fiddling with his Geiger counter. "Paralyzing drug you say? Whatever for?"

"I don't know, I couldn't move for six hours. But Peter was awake after an hour and he heard say there were done with me."

Olivia was startled when Walter brought out the Geiger counter and began to scan her with it.

"Enough with that thing already, Walter!" Peter cried. "She's not radioactive for Christ's sake. She's…"

A loud sound of beeps brought a deadly silence into the lab. Walter and Olivia seemed to have frozen simultaneously. Slowly Walter looked down at his Geiger counter. His eyes widened at the reading.

Then he looked as where his detector was…hovering over Olivia's midsection, around the waistline for the most part. Walter seemed lost in thought for a mere second and said "according to this Geiger counter you have a reading of 150 REM."

"What…does that mean?" asked Olivia.

"It means technically speaking, you shouldn't have been alive yesterday when you took your day off."

Olivia gave a sigh of relief and said "well, I'm okay Walter. I'm not sick and I haven't thrown up. I'm perfectly fine."

Peter smiled and shook his head. "That Geiger counter has been in this lab longer than Walter. I'm sure the thing's long broken."

"Oh," said Walter. "I'm sure it is, too."

Walter went to put it away. The notion that the device was broken and worn out was silly. It was working perfectly fine last night when he injected the rats in his lab with cancer cells.

~*~*~*~

Still no answers or any clues to help her. Walter was given her a blood test nearly every day, but each test ended the same. It ended with Walter looking a bit shock (almost in disbelief) but would shake it off with a slight mumble of "nothing". The mumbles from the old man only worsened with each passing day.

And now a whole week had passed since the incident. Perhaps it was time for her to give up. There would be no way for the Bishops to find what they did her unless she dropped dead suddenly and it was all too late.

~*~*~*~

The next morning after declaring surrender, Olivia woke up with her mind in a blur. She swore as she slept, she was hearing what sounded like static and the ghostly whim of voices now and then, sounding too indistinct. However, her television and radio were turned off.

She couldn't remember having any sort of visual dream. Perhaps, she ought to be grateful though…she had enough with hallucinations and mind games to last a lifetime.

Before her mind gathered awareness that it was time to get out of bed, she felt a sudden shock run up and down her body, followed by a huge wave of nausea.

It was too late to make it to the bathroom, Olivia sat over the edge of her bed and found herself puking on the hard wooden floor. She moaned in disgust and spent the next 15 minutes slowly cleaning up her own vomit.

Yet even after she was done, she was still feeling nauseated.

That wasn't going to stop the world, apparently as Olivia's phone rang.

Broyles finally had a new case for them.

Olivia joined up with the Bishops at empty building where there new case was and did her best to hold herself together…at least until they returned to the lab.

"Oh this is astounding," said Walter. "A real-life mannequin falling into severed parts." He was busying himself with curiosity at the layout body parts that had been placed there on the floor. A head, a torso, legs, and arms that were all completely detached…yet there were cuts or stitches of any kind. Every part of the body seemed covered by the skin without connection yet the head of the man was of one clearly dead.

"But there not truly severed," Broyles explained to him. "Those limbs would had to have been cut off of the body yet there are no cuts of any kind. But yes, the victim's body seemed to have fallen apart like a mannequin without cuts or abrasions. And we confirmed that all the parts belong to the one victim. We believe he couldn't have been dead for no more than an hour, and that's not even enough time for whoever did this to the limbs and sew them together if that were the case.

Instead of looking at the unusual array of body parts, Peter had been keeping his eye on Olivia. She had been slouching and her face looked white. He knew that something was wrong with her but he knew that she didn't want to feel weak, not in the middle of a freaking murder investigation. Yet she was starting to shake. Olivia wanted to throw up and not because of the corpse. She never threw up at the scene of a crime before. Now she was fighting every urge in her body not to.

She couldn't let Peter know that she was feeling feverish either. Yet she wasn't doing so well at this moment.

"He could still bleed though," said Walter. He grabbed a pocketknife from his jacket. "The man's brain is no doubt functioning but these body parts are very real."

Peter turned away from Olivia when he noticed the knife in Walter's hand… "Walter?! How did you get that knife?!"

But it was too late. Walter had taken the knife to one of the detached legs and a combination of blood and an unusual white foam came spewing out…followed by a strange stench that like stored pig fat. The officers surrounding the body turned their heads away slightly in disgust, even Broyles groaned at the sight and smell of the foam.

The timing couldn't have been more perfect for Olivia. She turned away and vomited. Peter was immediately at her side. She turned her head slightly to look up at Broyles.

Broyles would have been suspicious is he knew that she came to work absolutely sick. Today had been her lucky day however as the look on Broyles face convinced him that it was just vomit of disgust…not vomit of an actual sickness.

He walked by the corpse on last time but had to cover his nose as the stench was still a bit strong. "Let's just get these parts to your lab, Dr. Bishop," he said and stormed off.

Olivia didn't know how much longer she could stand there shaking and looking at what she threw up anymore. Peter was holding her.

"Hey…something's wrong now?"

She shook again and was sweating now, not a good sign. "Yeah," she said. "Something's wrong."

"Let's get you back to the lab then." Peter held Olivia the hold way as they made their way back to the car now positively worried that this was it…whatever those guys did…this had to be it.

But Olivia was trying to convince herself that it was a fever. Things like this don't just happen a week after…whatever…these symptoms would have come right away.

Yet when she took her hand to shove her hair back, she felt something unusual. She looked at her hand, a small chunk of her long golden strands had detached themselves from her scalp and were now lose in the palm of her hand.

She wanted to scream right then.

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_**Did you hate that cliffhanger?! Well then you're gonna ABHOR how the next chapter ends. Prepare for dropped jaws real soon. heehee! :D**_


	5. A diagnosis like no other

_**Damn, people! I'm getting Story Alerts left and right with this fic! I must be doing something good. I dunno what though. Heh, we'll just your reviews do the talking.**_

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"Olivia?! Hey!"

She struggling to rest and was whining helplessly at whoever was shaking her.

"I need to know if you're there, Olivia." She finally opened her eyes and saw that it was Peter at the driver's seat of her car.

"I," she barely said above a whisper. "I'm fine. I'm just resting."

"Okay, well don't rest too much. We're almost back at the lab. Just hang in there."

Peter was driving as fast as he could back to the lab without making Olivia feel nauseated (more than she already was). She was also exhausted from tears she shed the moment she saw her hair falling out.

This wasn't cancer. This couldn't be cancer.

Those bastards had to be a little more clever than that if they wanted to kill her so badly.

As she closed her eyes again, Olivia started to hear the strange sounds in her head. The same static she heard when she woke up that morning. She was starting to hear voices behind the static now but they were still too indistinct. One of them almost sounded like that of an old woman though she wasn't sure.

While Walter was busily enjoying the arrival of the unusually dismantled corpse, Peter came in carrying Olivia, placing her gently on the couch. The sweat and pale look on her skin seemed worse than ever as she laid there. Her breathing became erractic but there was nothing Peter could really do. Not without knowing what the problem was. All he could do was get a bucket ready in case she had to suddenly vomit again.

"Agent Farnsworth!" Walter said happily. "I'll need some empty syringes so we can start examining the body."

"To hell with that, Walter!" Peter growled. "Do you not see Olivia lying here, practically dying?! We need to find out what's wrong with her now…before it's too late."

"But I've already days worth of blood tests, boy."

"Well then, do another one! Do every damn test in the book if you have to!"

Astrid was shocked at the choice of Peter's words. "Are you sure you really want Walter to do that?"

Peter grumbled. "He knows what I mean."

"A medical examination it is, then," said Walter happily. "If we're to find any source of cancer or the like, Agent Dunham will have to strip down entirely…"

"You're kidding right?" said Peter. He prayed to god that Olivia wasn't awake to listen to any of this.

"Well we would have to check every part of her, wouldn't we? If it makes you uncomfortable to stay, then you could go out and run an errand for me."

This was madness in Peter's mind. A part of him was repulsed at the idea that his father would to examine Olivia completely naked and did not want to stay to see any of that. Too bad the rest of him couldn't bear the thought of leaving her alone in that situation if that was the case.

"I don't know," said Peter.

"I'm low on potassium iodide, liquid form," said Walter. "If Agent Dunham has any chance of surviving her symptoms then I will need some to make a form of treatment for her."

Peter was about to lose it mentality. Two choices as to how to help a helpless Olivia and both of them sounded too horrid to even think about.

Finally it was Astrid who spoke up.

"It'll be fine, Peter," she said. "I could give Olivia the exam and keep Walter behind the curtain to she doesn't feel too indecent."

Peter sighed. "Thank you, Astrid. Too bad we're not paying you or you'd be getting a big fat raise right now." He grabbed his coat and looked over at Olivia one last time before he went off on his errand.

He was gonna make this as quick a trip as he possibly could.

~*~*~*~

A makeshift private examination room had been made in Olivia's office, with all the windows covered, while Walter was sitting outside of the office looking through all of Olivia's blood test results. "Anything thing yet?" he called out for the sixth time.

"Nothing, Walter," Astrid called back. "Just stop asking. I'm almost done."

Walter grumbled as he began fiddling with the test results sorting them out of boredom. He could hear Astrid hooking up the ultrasound machine inside the office, but a few seconds later he heard a small explosion.

"What the?!" Astrid yelled.

Walter jumped up as Astrid peeked out of the office. "What happened?"

"The thing just…exploded. I was scanning her for like a second and then 'poof'."

"Well is Agent Dunham okay? Should I go in there and…"

He could hear Olivia yell, "I'm fine, Walter. Don't even think about coming in here!"

"Amazing," said Walter. "She must be incredibly radioactive."

Astrid crossed her arms. "I may not be a scientist but even I know how ridiculous that sounds, Walter."

"Where were you scanning her," asked Walter. "At the time the machine exploded?"

"Around the stomach, waist. Then the ultrasound started going haywire and it burst before I could do anything."

Walter's eyes widened in shock. "Walter?" said Astrid.

"I need you to print out the blood test you just gave her, now."

"Okay." Astrid was a bit confused. "Does this mean you found the answer?"

"I believe so."

With that, Astrid printed out the most recent blood tests while Olivia was putting her clothes back on. She stepped out of her office but only got as far as to lean onto the doorframe just about ready to collapse or throw up again.

"This better be good, Walter," she grumbled.

Walter wasn't listening. He ignored the two ladies in the lab as his mind toiled endlessly over the sheets of paper he laid out. He was circling something on each one. Astrid tried to look over what he was doing, but Walter kept shoving her out of the way...trying to concentrate.

He then sorted the sheets of paper into a new order. A few second of looking over, Walter was…smiling. That seemed to terrify Olivia when he turned around to face her.

"Walter, why are you…"

He walked up to her and said in a very friendly fashion. "I need to ask you a personal question, Agent Dunham."

Astrid couldn't hear the question as Walter was leaning in to whisper it in Olivia's ear. She took it upon herself to finally look at the sheets of paper that Walter was looking at. All of them were Olivia's blood test results from various days during the past week.

"What kind of question is that?!" Olivia said loudly. "What the hell does that have anything to do with…"

But Walter quietly calmed her down.

At that moment, Astrid was looking over what Walter circled on each of the papers. The realization suddenly hit her. She had studied this kind of thing before. The numbers didn't lie, yet it made sense. At the same time, it didn't explain the exploding machines or Olivia's cancerous symptoms. Perhaps there was a little more to all of it that only Walter himself could explain.

There was a crash and Astrid turned to see something she never expected…Olivia had leapt onto Walter, her hands grasping his neck.

Olivia was screaming at him "THIS ISN'T FUNNY YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

Walter was choking and gasping for air. "But it's true…the blood tests don't lie."

"No! I'm sick of you and your perverted comments! YOU TELL ME THE TRUTH RIGHT NOW!"

"I am!" Walter wheezed desperately. "I am!"

Astrid quickly ran up and used all the strength she had in her to break Olivia's hold on Walter's frailed neck. "'Livia, stop! You're going to kill him!"

That didn't seem to stop her hold on Walter. The rage was too much. All the damage that he caused her, having been a subject of his twisted experiments as a child, having to put up with his insane inappropriate comments, had all caught up to her and now her world was spinning out of control. If what he said was true then it had to have been Walter's fault. It always was his fault.

Eventually her grip on Walter found a weak point and Astrid was finally able to break the two of them away from each other. Walter fell to the floor coughing and struggling for dear life. Astrid had to aid Walter. It was her job to make sure he was still able to breathe.

Olivia and Walter looked at each other. The fear was more in Olivia's eyes than it was in his. When the sudden realization finally hit her as to what she just did, Olivia turned and fled from the lab before the two remaining occupants could stop her.

Peter returned to the lab only 10 minutes after Olivia left, and was shocked to find his father to be the one now lying on the couch, trying to breathe.

"The hell?!" Peter yelled. "Where's Olivia?"

"She ran off," said Astrid.

"What?! You didn't stop her? Why?"

Astrid looked down at the floor unsure if she should even be the one telling him the discovery. "I don't think I should even tell you."

"Oh son!" Walter managed to sit himself on the couch but he was still coughing quite a bit. "Did you bring the potassium iodide?"

"Yeah," he said. "But first you tell me what happened. Why are there bruises all over your neck?!"

"Agent Farnsworth." Walter simply ignored his son. "Add about 5mg of the iodide to each of the doses."

Peter was getting incredibly angry and frustrated now. "Is anyone going to tell me what the hell's going on?!"

Astrid seemed to have the syringes ready in a quick amount of time.

"Peter," said Walter. "She missed her first week of treatment. That's why she's losing her hair. There isn't much time. She has to take that, right now."

Astrid got one syringe and stored it in a box ready to go.

"But what did you find?"

"Oh son," Walter said with a sad tone in his voice. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you. Agent Dunham sure didn't."

Peter ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. "Damn you, Walter!" He grabbed the box that Astrid prepared and stormed passed Walter.

"Injection must be made to the side, just above the hip." Walter wasn't sure if Peter bothered to listen once he finally slammed the door on the lab and was gone.

"Oh dear," said Walter. "Do you suppose I should've told him?"

"It's fine, Walter," Astrid assured him. "Better for Olivia to tell him anyway. You don't need someone trying to kill you a second time today."

~*~*~*~

Olivia had no idea how she managed to drive herself home. Aside from the anger and frustration setting in, more of her hair had fallen out by the time she reached her front door and fiddled with her keys.

She wasn't balding yet, but she was getting pretty close.

As soon as she opened the door to her apartment, the first thing she did when she stepped inside was vomit.

She didn't care to clean it up. In fact, she left the front door to her apartment open as she stumbled into her bedroom, finally collapsing onto her bed.

Endless minutes were spent sobbing over everything that just happened, everything she just learned. And now, she was apparently dieing. Either way, she felt her own life had ended whether she got through this sickness or not.

Another wave of nausea hit and it only got worse from there. Aside from more vomiting, Olivia felt the pain in her stomach intensify, more horrid then menstrual cramps.

She just want it to stop…all of it to stop.

"Olivia, you in here?"

Olivia didn't care to respond to the voice. She remained on her bed just shiftless, allowing the intruder to pass in. Her vision seemed blurry but her brain was able to register the identity the man who had enter her apartment and stumbled into her bedroom soon enough.

Peter had entered her bedroom at that very moment to hear the most horrifying groan of pain. She felt as if knives were stabbing her abdomen in quick and massive jabs now. Her heart rate seemed to be going up as well.

"Just hang on, Liv. It'll all be over soon."

Peter opened the box and grabbed the syringe very nervously. Knowing the Olivia couldn't really move, he carefully lifted her shirt and found the proper spot on her hip to place the injection.

Olivia tried to moan in protest but instead she felt the syringe stab into her. Like waking up from a nightmare, she quickly rose up responding to the needle in her flesh. Peter caught her before she could fall back down.

A few silent seconds passed between them and the endless heat and pain in Olivia's body seemed to cease. She suddenly began to shiver and Peter had no choice but to pull her closer to him.

Dizziness overtook her mind now.

"It's okay, Liv," Peter assured her. "What is it? What was it they did to you?"

Olivia did her best to listen to Peter and respond. "You mean…Walter didn't tell you?"

"No," said Peter. "Not a goddamn thing."

She realized then that Peter had went to see Walter before her and possibly saw the damage she had inflicted on him not too long ago. "Oh god, Peter. I didn't mean to hurt him. I was just freaked out…I didn't believe him…"

"It's okay."

The shivering in Olivia had gotten less with every second that passed between them. "Please, tell me what Walter found."

Olivia took a deep breath. "You remember telling me that you think one of the devices you saw on that freighter was an ultrasound?"

"Yeah?" It took a moment for Peter to really think about that but he shook the thought out of his mind due to lack of possibility.

"Walter thinks that they…they performed an embryonic transfer on me."

Olivia was using the scientific term for it. But Peter didn't think of it at first. Then his effin' genius brain began to understand. But still, he refused. No way in hell could that meant what he knew it meant.

"I'm pregnant."

She collapsed back onto the bed passing out of consciousness. Peter was left sitting there, at the edge of her bed…struggling to take all of it in.

~*~*~*~

"We succeeded? Are you sure?"

The woman nodded. "I'm sure of it, William. You do know this telepathic reading works both ways."

"Amazing," said Bell. "Then everything will be alright. Ziegler can't touch her now and he knows it."

"At least not until it's born," said Guinevere. "I still feel awful about the fact that we can't explain to her why this is happening to her. The poor thing must be scared to death."

"We're working on that," Bell assured her. "In fact, we may have to bring Ms. Sharp in on this."

Guinevere groaned "That hag?! Why does she have to be involved?!"

"Because she's in their world, right now. She can send agents to assure the safety of both of them."

"We'll see if Ziegler becomes any form of a threat first. For now, I just want to take it all in."

"You should," said Bell. "And be joyous, my dear. In eight months, you will have a healthy clone."

Guinevere happily sighed and said, "looks like I can stick around for another 150 years after all."

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_**EEP! WALTER!**_

_**All "OMGWTF" responses can be sent to me in the lovely form of a review. I'm gonna stop predicting when I'll have another chapter up cause I seriously have no clue. Besides, I'm getting a crazy amount of story alerts as is. heh**_

_**Things are gonna get explained in future chaps in case you're confused as hell. No worries. :)**_


	6. You lose either way

_**Whoa! I wasn't expecting such positive responses to my last chapter. And here I was thinking this was gonna be one of the dumbest reveals in the history of fanfiction. Cause...well...it's a preggers fic. Yeah that's right...one of the most unoriginal premises for a fanfic and I'm writing it! HAHAHAHA. On the plus side, if I didn't add all the insane Fringe-y like elements to this that you are gonna come across, then this fic wouldn't even be worth writing for me. What Fringe-y elements you ask? Well I got a few of them in this chap. Read and see!**_

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The damn noises and voices in her head continued to irritate her. She forced herself awake but realized too late what a mistake that was.

Olivia leaned over her bed and was surprised to find that someone left a wastebasket there within vomiting range, something which she used to her full advantage.

The godawful taste of it all remained in her mouth, as it had been since it all started. Her memory was fuzzy. She could barely recall how she was in the lab one minute and how she ended up lying passed out in her apartment the next.

It wasn't until she felt someone holding her, helping her to sit up, did she remember the medication that injected exhaustion all throughout her body.

Peter's hands continued to support hers until she finally got the hint that he was putting a glass of water in her hands to drink. She barely muttered a "thank you" from her lips before she consumed the entire glass. It washed away most of the vomiting taste in her throat, but she still tasted sick, still felt sick.

"You know," Peter said, a bit worried that Olivia was unaware of his presence in the room. "There's always that slight chance that Walter's playing a big practical joke on you."

Olivia smirked. "I don't think he's capable of being a comedian, Peter."

"Yeah, you're right," Peter shrugged. "So how exactly did he break this...news to you?"

"He asked me if I had sexual intercourse in the past couple of weeks. I didn't think it had anything to do with all that's happened. Then he said that the condom must've broke off because my HCG levels in my blood were up to pregnancy levels."

Peter muttered, "That bastard. It doesn't explain the meds, or that your hair was falling out."

"You're right." Olivia shook her head. "This has to be some sort of joke." She tried to fake a smile of relief, or perhaps it was denial. "I can go see a real doctor right now and they won't find a baby. They may find something unusual and Fringe-like but that's to be expected around us."

"Yeah…" Peter's mind was a bit torn. As much as he hated his father, Walter wouldn't lie about something this serious, and Olivia's symptoms were too similar to what Walter diagnosed. Of course there had to be more to the situation than this. Perhaps the only way to really convince himself this was all for real was to get to the lab and look at those blood test results for himself.

But he was far too hesitant to leave Olivia, not now anyway.

"I can go with you," he said. "I can take you to see the doctor if you want."

Olivia looked at him and shook her head. "I'll be fine. I I'll go first thing in the morning. You should probably get back to the lab and make sure I didn't kill your father."

"He was fine when I saw him, Liv. You absolutely sure?"

"I'm sure, Peter. I just want to go back to sleep. If you don't mind…"

Peter felt as if he had been sucker-punched. Obviously, Olivia was trying to deal with a difficult situation by herself…again. But he hated how Olivia was practically trying driving him out.

He finally forced himself to leave her bedside even though it was nowhere near what he wanted to do (deep down he didn't think it was what Olivia wanted either). "Take care then," he said without even looking at her. "See you tomorrow."

~*~*~*~

Olivia was starting to regret not having Peter there with her when (after a night of no sleep), she finally got the nerve to see a gynecologist. As uninterested as she was in a pregnancy test, she had to come up with a cock and bull story about how she offered to be a surrogate mother and just needed a second opinion to confirm if the whole thing was successful. Then she would go to a real doctor about the strange cancerous thing going on with her.

That was the plan.

She never had to visit a gynecologist in her life. That alone made the situation uncomfortable in itself. At least the doctor was a woman, but Olivia couldn't help but feel a sense of dread about the whole situation…as to what the doctor would find.

Olivia keep thinking to herself, at least this wasn't Walter performing the hysteroscopy on her.

The doctor look at the screen while performing the inspection and her face was turning a ghaotly white. She kept looking back at Olivia and back at the screen but Olivia herself could not see what it was being discovered nor was the doctor willing to tell her.

"You'll have to excuse me," she said after the hysteroscopy was done. Olivia never saw a doctor rushed out of the room with such panic before. A clear sign that something had been found. Olivia just lied there fearing just about everything. The room was getting smaller and the fact that she just had been inspected in an indecent area of her body was all catching up to her.

The gynecologist came back with another doctor. Olivia couldn't take the suspense anymore. "Excuse me," barked Olivia. "I'm an FBI Agent so I'm going to need those results today."

"Well," said the gynecologist. "We can confirm that you are pregnant…"

Olivia was silently cursing to herself. Walter was right, her worst fear.

"But we also found something we think is surrounding the embryo. We've never seen something like it before in all of our practice. In fact, we're afraid to even touch it."

"Do you have pictures?"

The other doctor in the room held a manila envelope in his hands. "Everything's in here but we'll need to…"

Olivia snatched the envelope. "No, you won't. This is information pertaining to an investigation and you're required to keep quiet about this. No one outside of this room is allowed to know about the exam. Do you understand?"

The gynecologist was confused but Olivia simply ignored her as she got up and quickly got her things together and left as soon as she possibly could.

She got to her car and pulled out the pictures. Whether it was the sight of what she found in the pictures or if it was just her poor health in general, Olivia found herself vomiting outside of her car again.

Her phone rang at the very moment. "Dunham," she responded weakly.

"Is there a reason why I have heard nothing from you in the past 24 hours on the Living Mannequin case, Dunham?" The cold stern voice of Broyles on the other end only made Olivia's heartbeat turn rapid.

"Sorry sir, I've been too sick."

"This is not like you, Dunham. I've never known a cold to stop you from getting your cases done in record time. You're lucky we haven't found a second victim yet. I don't even have an I.D. on the first victim if that's any indication as to how far behind you are."

There was silence on the other end and then…

"Is there something you're not telling me, Agent Dunham?"

Olivia did not skip a beat when she said "No, nothing. I'll get back to work on this case by the end of today, sir."

~*~*~*~

Walter looked at the photos that Olivia brought, of course, with fascination. "It's everything I hoped it would be."

"Of course it would," said Peter. "Somehow this blue icky thing, indicates that Olivia's pregnant. For all we know it can't be human."

"For all we know, son. You could be right."

Olivia was sitting on the couch in the lab keeping her distance from the Bishop men. "This is not helping me."

"You're right, Agent Dunham. It's not supposed to help you." He walked over to her and sat by her on the couch. It made Olivia incredibly angry and uncomfortable on the inside but she didn't have much of a choice as Walter have the photos that revealed the blue gooey substance that she was carrying in her womb. "You can't see the embryo because the blue plasma is covering it, protecting it. But I can hopefully assure that it's a human embryo."

"And what are you basing that on, Walter?" she said coldly.

"My work with Penrose on the super-soldier project."

Peter shook his head. "You mean the old man baby we found?"

"Yes, but seeing that there hasn't been any significant speeding or the presence of a newborn old man, it's safe to say that whoever impregnated Dunham was ensuring a normally developed pregnancy to progress."

Olivia rolled her eyes. "Great."

"I was referring to the cloning aspect of the projects that we did. You see the problem with cloning any living creature is that there is never any guarantee that the clones themselves will come out absolutely perfect. In fact, many of the earlier practices of cloning would result in genetic deformities or premature death of ghastly nature. But Penrose and I found a way to protect the fetal subject during the development and still allow every single intended gene to remain intact without change: this blue plasma. It jellifies itself around the embryo protecting it from its unfamiliar environment and works to keep the intended genetic design of the clone all the way to birth. Sadly, I made a discovery regarding the blue plasma that I failed to catch onto when it was first invented. The plasma was made up of many nucleons, atoms, that were need to power the plasma for its intended purpose. I also believe that the plasma is a usuable substance for nuclear warfare."

"Jesus Christ, Walter!" Peter cried out. "Are you saying that blue stuff inside of Olivia right now is freakin' radioactive?!"

Walter came to a sudden epiphany. "Ah yes! That would explain the recent falling out of Agent Dunham's hair and why my Geiger counter was off the charts, and why the ultrasound exploded. The plasma is radioactive but not by much. The iodide, if Agent Dunham takes it weekly, should keep the radiation within the plasma from spreading. What I find most fascinating is that the plasma doesn't harm the fetus one bit…"

"I want it out!" Olivia said suddenly.

Both Walter and Peter turned to her. "Beg your pardon, Agent Dunham?"

"You're telling me that I'm pregnant with a…radioactive baby?"

"That's not what I said," scoffed Walter. "Is it?"

"Yes Walter! It is! I can't just keep taking that iodide every week! We don't even know if me having a baby is their intention. What if they're this baby is supposed to be some sort of nuclear bomb that is set to explode?! We have to get it out of me now. I'm not letting these people go through with whatever they want with my body!"

Peter froze, too scared to approach Olivia or his father. The heat in the room rose from Olivia's fury.

But Walter only looked at Olivia with dreaded sympathy. "In any other circumstances, this would be a morally difficult choice for you Agent Dunham. But in this case, it won't be a simple matter of an abortion. Any attempts to interfere with the pregnancy would require us to go through the blue plasma protecting the embryo. It is very delicate my dear. The slightest squeeze or puncture to the surface will cause the liquid portion of the plasma to leak out."

Olivia was shaking, "and then what?"

"And then Agent Dunham, the radioactivity which is contained inside the plasma WOULD RAPIDLY spread through to the rest of your body. All of your hair would be gone and you would die of radiation poisoning within the hour."

The lab went dead silent.

Struggling to maintain every bit of dignity left in her, Olivia rose up from the couch and walked past Peter. "I…" she said quietly. "I've been wasting my time worrying about this, a whole day and now we're 24 hrs behind on the Live Mannequin case. I haven't even I.D.'d the victim and…"

"Olivia, it's fine," Peter assured her. "We've been working on the case while you were gone."

She simply ignored him as she walked into the office. Astrid had been working on the case file but had been no doubt distracted by the ruckus going on outside.

"Did you I.D. the victim?" Olivia said. She was clearly falling apart and both of the women in the room knew it, but Astrid chose to keep her cool.

"Yeah, Stephen Tucker, Age 35, male, works as a swimsuit model." She handed Olivia the folder and it shook when it was in Olivia's hands.

She headed towards the door out of the lab but Peter grabbed her arm. "Let's talk about this Liv. We have time…"

"NO WE DON'T!" Her other arm forcefully released Peter's grip on her in an instant. "I don't even want to think about this right now, okay? Broyles is already on me about this case and he still doesn't even know about this…I don't know what you call it. I don't care! I need to get this case finished before I can even think about how I might die either way. So just leave me alone, Peter!!!"

Olivia won her battle and stormed out of the lab. Forcefully, she would have to push down any tears of dread…or even regret for the way she was treating everyone around her right now. In her world, there wouldn't be time for any of that until AFTER the case was done...perhaps even longer than that if she kept continuing to deny her fate.

Astrid stepped out of the office after the commotion in the lab died down.

"Oh Agent Farnsworth," said Walter cheerfully. "I believe you have yet to be filled in on the unusual circumstances surrounding Agent Dunham's pregnancy and the blue plasma. Care for me to fill you in?"

"Judging by what I could hear," said Astrid. "I really don't know if I want to know anymore."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

_**Ouch Livy! You hating me yet for having Livy push Peter away? Well you should, cause I have a feeling it might get worse for the two of them...or they might not any choice but to get closer. Oh yeah...I'm giving you little hints as to what may go on later in this story. That's because I love to torment my readers. Who here in the Fringe fanfiction section doesn't? That's right, no one! HAHAHAHA**_


	7. Messengers of the word

**_Double-whammy update today. (Boredom strikes again). But this chap is rather short so it's more like a 1.5 whammy. On the other hand, it is a cliffhanger in anticipation for what I think is a bigger cliffhanger in the next chap. Am I cruel or what?! Enjoy everyone!_**

* * *

Nina Sharp never feared going into Broyles' office before…in fact Nina never feared anything until now. The night before, Bell had let her in on something she wished she hadn't known. Something they apparently did without her knowing and all involving a woman who was twice her age and twice more despised. Apparently she thought that Bell was kidding when they said they impregnated Olivia Dunham with a human clone of the 145-year-old hag. Sadly, he wasn't.

Now she slightly hesitated at the door to Broyles' office but he was already expected her so she had no choice but to let the news flow out of her mouth with her natural witty personality.

She spoke the words with full confidence. "Agent Dunham's pregnant."

Broyles looked up at her but kept his mind on the papers he was looking at. "You are aware that April Fools Day was two months ago?"

"I don't make these personal visits to make up things, Phillip."

"And how would you know that something of such a personal matter is going on with one of my agents?"

"It's not the standard kind of pregnancy, I'm unfortunate to learn."

Broyles now turned his whole attention to Nina, a bit skeptical of what was going on, but now quite curious. "I'm listening."

"You remember your work on the Guinevere Cult case?"

"We closed that case years ago without much resolve." broyles recalled that case as one of the most twisted unsolved cases that he ever worked on. No leads, and a mass grave of pregnant women and fetuses was all that was discovered from the supposed emptied hideout of the cult.

Nina sighed. "William just confessed to me yesterday that he was a member of that cult."

"The…William Bell?"

"Of course, Phillip. It seems that for the last several years, he's been working secretly with some of the cult's last remaining members to finish the work they started on. Some years in and out of his practice he somehow fell victim to their crazy claims of a woman who can reincarnate herself every 150 years and self-manipulate everything that you and I have known as the Pattern. Apparently, Bell's become their…scientific consultant, and this time, they say, they found a breakthrough…and the perfect candidate to test this process one more time."

Broyles was stunned. "Agent Dunham? Why her?"

"Oh I wouldn't know," said Nina sarcastically. "I suppose it's her strong stubborn will that they think makes her the perfect…carrier, protector if you will, of the next reincarnation of 'Guinevere'. I know. It sounded like complete madness to me too."

Broyles was not happy to see his top agent fall unwilling product to such a twisted cult. "And you had absolutely no idea they were targeting her specifically for this?!"

"You think I wouldn't have stopped them if I had known they had specifically chosen Dunham? Of course, I would have! I could've recommended them far more suitable candidates that were willing to risk their lives for such insane ideas."

"And yet here you are in my office being entrusted with such insane ideas given to you by Bell himself," said Broyles. "What exactly did he say to convince you that all of these practices with the Guinevere Cult was even plausible?"

Nina took a deep breath and said, "because not too long before Bell went through with his insane plan, I personally got to meet this so-called Guinevere. She was as old as she claimed to be. But more importantly, she claims that she and her followers were from the 'other side'. It seems in the other reality, they have found a way for centuries to not only clone humans, but to transplant their memories as well."

Broyles couldn't believe what the theories all added up to. "Reincarnation."

~*~*~*~

Olivia had been succeeding with the Live Mannequin case in a record amount of time. As she looked through the files, she realized that Peter and Walter were working frivolously on the case while she was out sick and evenindentified the unusually foul-smelling chemical in the body limbs that allowed for uncut flawless skin to "heal" the amputated limbs.

Somehow, knowing what the chemical was made tracking down the twisted killer all the more easier for her. And the sooner this guy's reign of terror ended, the sooner Olivia could get back to lying in bed and thinking about this twisted pregnancy that would eventually somehow kill her.

"Don't take this the wrong way, Liv," Charlie said, though he didn't know if Liv was even listening to him. "But you look like shit."

Olivia quickly woke her mind up from her distracted thoughts. They were on a stakeout, the worst place to even be thinking about such things right now. But that didn't stop Charlie from noticing the sweat on her face or having the look of someone who had been vomiting a lot recently. "Sorry," Olivia replied. "I've been having a very hellish couple of days."

"Did they find any new leads on what happened to you and Bishop last week?"

Olivia sighed and said "yeah. We found out what they wanted with us…more like what they wanted with me."

"Care to share?"

She shook her head. "Trust me, Charlie. You're better off knowing AFTER we close this case…or else neither of us will be able to focus."

Ten minutes later, a van pulled up to the building they were watching. Sure enough, their suspect came out carrying a large bag. A person had to be inside of it but it was unknown whether said person was alive or already dead.

When the timing was perfect, Olivia and Charlie made their entrance into the building. The main room had been littered with real mannequins everywhere on the floor, which hindered them slightly and allowed their suspect to turn. He was about to amputate a woman he had lying unconscious on a blood stained table, indicating that this was the place where the killer had been doing his nasty work.

"Hold it right there!" Olivia called out. She knew that pointing her gun at the killer wasn't going to get instant results, but she half did not expected to the man to wave his flesh-cutting axe at the two agents. The massive blade was suddenly flying in their direction. But the blade, in fact, had missed both targets and flew right passed them. Charlie stumbled from the commotion and fell back into a large pile of mannequin parts.

The killer quickly ran out of the room and Olivia followed suit.

He had taken the stairs all the way to the roof.

By the time Olivia had gotten to the rooftop, the killer was already leaping through the air and barely made it to the rooftop of another nearby building.

Olivia watched as the killer bent down for some unknown reason. She took her gun and aimed at the killer but he moved suddenly and revealed that he was carrying his own gun.

A long loud echo rang as both of them fired their weapons at the same time. Olivia felt a sharp pain explode in her shoulder. The man on the other rooftop collapsed and Olivia had no idea if he was dead, but at least he was now down for the count.

She fell on her side. Her skin collided with the concrete surface of the roof before she could stop herself. A mixture of pain and blood caused her to scream. Not only did she get a bullet wound in the shoulder, but now much of the skin on her arm had been scrapped and bruised.

Remembering the growing "thing" inside of her and the sensitive plasma surrounding it, Olivia had to stop her body from rolling onto her stomach and forced herself onto her back. It did nothing to relieve the pain.

It got to the point where the pain was so intense she wanted to pass out again. The need to vomit was slowly building up inside her as well.

She could hear the sound of footsteps on the roof but could not move her head to see who it was. She could, however, barely see the legs of someone…someone NOT Charlie.

The figure walked towards Olivia and kneeled down, placing a hand on her bullet-wound shoulder. She closed her eyes with unknown anticipation as to what this person, whom she could barely see, was trying to do.

The hand slowly made its way down her bloody damaged arm.

Olivia took a few second to breathe and then realized that she was starting to feel…different, the pain that had consumed her right arm and shoulder was slowly leaving her. She lifted her arm up and realized that the blood and bruises on the skin had completely…vanished, as if the wounds had never been there to begin with.

She felt her shoulder and found neither a bullet nor a gashing wound was there. Even the feeling of dizziness and nausea, inside of her seemed to cease, for now. Her body seemed healed.

Slowly she tried to pull herself up but apparently, someone was helping her up from behind.

"You must not be so reckless, Miss Dunham," a monotone voice said to her. "Especially not in your delicate condition."

Olivia turned and finally got to look at the face of the man with the monotone voice. Her eyes widened when she immediately recognized the face.

"You…"

Of all the faces that Olivia ever encountered, she did not expect for this one in particular, to be someone who would immediately appear to her aid…and judging by his use of words, made it clear that he knew far too well about her…pregnancy.

"You have been promised answers," said the Observer. "And I have been sent to give them to you."

* * *

_**Send me your hate reviews. I welcome them same way I do any review. Beats getting spam in my inbox. Heh.**_


	8. Keeping it safe

The Observer was sitting by her side, Indian style. Whereas Olivia sat with her arms wrapped around her legs. It seemed awkward to Olivia that the two of them were sitting and looking at each other as if they were comrades. They weren't anyway. The Observer, in Olivia's mind was a mystery being whom the Bishops were all too familiar with. She didn't think that she would be able to hear the man utter a single word in front of her.

"Are you aware of the name Guinevere Aditi?" he asked her.

Olivia blinked. "No, I can't say that I have."

"But you have heard of the Guinevere Cult?"

"I wanted to work on that case. But they wouldn't allow woman agents to go near it. Said it was too dangerous for me."

The Observer said, "I'm sure that would not have stopped you."

Olivia smiled, impressed that this bald man seemed to know her far too well than she could possibly know him. "Thank you. But…are you telling me that this baby has something to do with that case?"

The Observer looked away from Olivia and set his eyes towards the unknown. "She has personally chosen you."

"Chosen me?"

"To carry and give birth to her clone."

Olivia couldn't believe it. This was…someone's clone…part of someone's twisted cult.

"There are others," the Observer said. "…who are seeking the child. They cannot hurt you while you carry, but they will try to come after you. You cannot let them take her or they will win. The will destroy this world if they have her before we do."

"Whose we?"

"Guinevere, of course, and her followers. They are willing to compensate you for your participation…"

"Participation?!" Olivia said coldly. "I never willingly signed up for this nor would I ever want to! I'm being forced into this!"

The Observer did not flinch at her outburst and continued, "as I was saying…you will be compensated. Once it is born, you will relinquish the child to us and your part in this will be over. You will not hear from any of us again."

Olivia tried to hold it together but all of the information she was getting in a matter of days was…too much, too much to take in.

"Why…why me, then?" she asked.

"It is believed," said the Observer "that you would do far more to protect the child than anyone else in this reality would."

The Observer then took from his coat pocket, a worn-out leather book. He showed it Olivia and she quietly and cautiously took the book from his hands.

"Until she's born. That's all they ask of you."

Olivia opened the book to a random page. All of the pages in the book have been worn out to a yellowish-brown cover with endless scribbles throughout. However she clearly made out three initials on one of the pages that would give her chills just looking at: Z.F.T. And on the other page was a symbol drawn in that she recognized years ago from looking through a case she wasn't allowed to take part in investigating: the sign of the Guinevere Cult.

"Liv! You up there?!"

Olivia looked up and found that the Observer had completely vanished.

"Charlie?" Olivia called out. "Yeah, I'm here."

Olivia got up again the moment Charlie got to the rooftop.

"You didn't see us on the other building?" Charlie pointed to the roof of the other building where the killer that Olivia shot fell. Olivia saw a couple of the officers carrying a cover body indicating that Olivia did indeed kill that twisted murderer.

"I was surprised to see you were still here," said Charlie.

Olivia mind was still on the Observer and the leather book in her hand but she had to pull it together. "The woman…is she?"

"Alive, but was unconscious. She's on her way to a hospital now."

Olivia gave a sigh of relief.

"What's with the book?"

"Let's get to the car and I'll tell you everything," she said. "We're both in for a long ride back to the Bureau."

~*~*~*~

On the way back, Olivia told Charlie everything…even how the Observer showed up to speak with her just moments before he found her.

"By any chance," he said as he and Olivia were walking down the hall. "Are you sure that you're not just pregnant with a bunch of monster maggots?"

Olivia laughed. "Honestly, Charlie I think you got off pretty lucky with having that larvae in you. I would've rather taken my chances with that over what I'm going through."

She went into Broyle's office alone and dropped infront of him on his desk the files to close the Living Mannequin case for good.

Broyles only gave her a look. It was a look of both concern and secrecy.

But Olivia caught him. There was silence between them. "Oh god," said Olivia. "You know about this?"

"I've only just learned while you were supposedly out working on the case," he said. "I'm rather surprised that you would try to hide this from me."

"Well, I wouldn't know how to tell you," said Olivia. "I didn't think you would believe that I abducted against my will and impregnated with a clone baby."

"In this department, Agent Dunham, nothing ever gets passed as unbelievable," said Broyles. "But now, I'm far more concerned as to how your condition will affect your work performance."

"I'm going to keep working, sir." Olivia was defiant fearing that Broyles was going to keep her from working. "The last thing I want right now IS to be taken off of cases because of…this. What happened with during the Live Mannequin case was just…shock. It won't happen again."

"Knowing you, Dunham, I know it won't," said Broyles. "Nevertheless, I've been advised to take it easy on you until we get passed this whole ordeal."

Olivia was confused. "Advised? By who? Who told you about this?"

"I've been requested to keep that information classified."

"Was it some whackos from the 'Guinevere Cult'? Did they come to you? The only person I know that you would get any secrets from is Nina Sharp and I doubt she has anything to do with this." Olivia sighed and said "wouldn't be surprised if she knew anything though."

Broyles did not flinch at the sound of the name. Nina insisted that Olivia wasn't ready to know yet, and Broyles had to make good on her request to let Olivia know when it was time. But now was not the time to tell him about Bell's connections with the cult.

"Go home, Dunham. I promise to call if I have a case for you."

She wasn't going to get anymore of a response than that from Broyles. It made her mad, but she didn't have much of a choice. Olivia was already prepared to vomit again and she wasn't ready to make it so obvious to everyone at work as to how pregnant she was.

~*~*~*~

When Olivia got home, she locked the door to her apartment, and the words of the Observer came flowing into her head. Others would come after her? She already had to deal with enough shit. The fear of going to the lab and seeing Walter or Peter was apparently not worse enough.

She tried to push away the fear of everything she was told about the baby but she found herself doing unusual things she normally wouldn't do. Every night before she went to bed, Olivia would check every door and window in her home to make sure they were locked tight even closed all the blinds.

Every night, there would always be a loaded and ready gun at her bedside.

Few trips were made outside of the apartment over the next few days. She only went to the lab once…in the middle of the night…to pick up more of the iodide injections that she would have to take on a weekly basis. They were all on the table ready for her.

She was relieved that the Bishops weren't there. She didn't think she could handle going back to the lab for a very long time, let alone speak to either of them.

Soon it was time for her to take the medicine again and Olivia found it far more difficult to take the medicine by herself. She tried to imitate where and how Peter injected her the week before. Nothing but excruciating pain. Then, the sudden wave of shivering and Olivia fell back. Her head hit the headboard of her bed and she woke up the next day in terrible pain. Knowing now that the shivering and the passing out where unpreventable side effects, made Olivia feel more miserable.

Often, she would look through the leather book that the Observer gave her. Much of the handwriting was unreadable and some pages were even scribbled out or missing. Then she came across a series of unusual pages that distracted her. Each page contained a list of what looked like ingredients and Olivia realized they were recipes. She found it definitely unusual for a cult book to have several pages of food recipes but then she thought…if this pregnancy was part of some cult's insane plans for world domination then they would have expected Olivia to not only protect the baby but make sure she was feeding it right as well.

She found herself doing a big grocery shopping trip, merely going along with the whole thing…out of pure curiosity. Then she tried her hand at cooking one of the dishes, a very unusual dish of squid with a spicy paste. It had a foul smell as she was cooking it. But soon she started to feel more and more…excited about eating it.

When it was done, Olivia found herself devouring the whole dish.

There were no calls from Peter or Broyles over the next few days, which made her a bit relieved. There was already enough stress with the strange dreams and voices she was still hearing in her head.

She was spending more and more time alone in the apartment, making these strange dishes and scarfing them down rather selfishly. Either the baby was craving them or these dishes were intentionally designed to make Olivia eat them for the sake of the baby's care. She didn't know.

One night, after spending nearly a week alone in her apartment, it all came to a crashing halt. She didn't know what compelled it, but the sudden realization that she was self isolating herself, that she was being pursued by unknown people, that she was pregnant. It all began to dawn on her when she woke up from a nap and heard those damn voices in her sleep again.

She must've spent hours crying in that bed when she heard a faint noise. It must've been in her head again. Still she grabbed her gun from the nightstand but she was still too weak to get up.

A part of her thought 'to hell' with the fate of the world. These dangerous people whom the Observer warned her of…maybe they could end her misery if she begged them hard enough.

She heard the faint noise again but this time, Olivia no longer had the strength to budge.

Holding her gun in one hand, her other hand felt the cell phone on her nightstand. It had been both a tempting and absolutely fearful thought, but the idea wouldn't leave her mind…not in her messed up state.

She was fooling herself. Peter hadn't contacted her in days. He must've been really hurt by her outburst or he wouldn't have taken this long to try and talk to her again after the last case. But if Olivia flipped open that phone and immediately dialed his number…what the hell was she gonna say? Why was she even desperately wanting to call him now? What could he possibly say to her that she would want to hear? Because she hadn't heard one good bit of news about anything since the pregnancy began without her knowledge.

She shoved the phone away and continued to lie there in complete darkness. Olivia would've been a greedy selfish bitch to think that she could just call on Peter for something so small and petty. It would be too embarrassing for him to see her like this as well. This was something Olivia knew she had to go through all on her own or else she would be a weakling…she would be a failure.

With all of the lights shut off and all of the curtains and windows shut neither Peter or Olivia would have any idea how close the other was.

Olivia failed to realize that the faint sounds she heard was Peter knocking on her door. And Peter did not find a single light on in her place to show that she was even home. Her car was there but she could've been out working on a non-Pattern related case, for all he knew.

Or maybe…she just didn't want to talk to him.

He thought about it…knocking on her door…one last time. But before his knuckles would hit the door, Peter dropped his hand. He sighed in defeat and turned around.

Hidden from view, a black van had been parked across the street from Olivia's apartment with armed men inside. They now had the perfect opportunity to make their move as they watched Peter walk away.

~*~*~*~

"How did it go, son?" Walter asked as Peter sulked his way back into the hotel room. "My goodness. Did you not talk to her?"

"I think she's made it perfectly clear that she's not in the mood to talk to me, Walter. I wouldn't be surprised if she's more willing to talk to you."

"Are you mad, Peter? I'm the one that Agent Dunham tried to murder not too long ago. Now I say that this silence between the two of you has grown quite ridiculous." Walter grabbed his son by the arm. "If you were any kind a man, you would go straight back to Agent Dunham's and try to speak with her again."

"Says the man with no pants on."

"Ah" Walter grabbed a pair of pants that was left on the couch and put them on. "Perhaps I could go with you."

"And what good will that do, Walter?"

"You've heard of Cyrano de Bergerac, have you not?"

Peter knew what Walter was talking about sadly enough. "Walter…this is NOT what I think you think it is."

"But Peter, you've been fiddling with that phone of yours for days trying to muster up the courage to talk to her."

Peter sighed. "I'm just checking to see if she's alright. Nothing sinister about that."

Walter excitingly grabbed his son by the arm and tried to drag him to the door. "Then let's see you check on her in person."

Peter struggled as his father was pulling him "dammit Walter! No! Let go!"

All the lights in the room went dark at that very moment, allowing for Peter to free himself from his father's grip. "What the hell? A power outage?"

There was a knock at the door. Peter stumbled over something on his way to answer but had to hold in the pain.

"Yeah, yeah, we know," said Peter as he opened the door believing it was hotel management, quickly responding to power outage. "Stay in the room and…"

Peter felt a sharp blow to his stomach.

"Peter!"

Walter couldn't see very well in the dark but he grabbed a nearby beer bottle, hoping to swing at the intruders. He managed to hit someone…hopefully not Peter. But someone else was trying to wrestle with him in the dark and Walter was thrown painfully against a table.

Peter meanwhile was punching someone in the face whom he could not see. But someone struck him in the back of the head. He was forced down and tied up.

As Peter was being carried out into the hallway, he could get a better view of the men who had captured him. They were armed with guns and masks and were checking the hallways. A few people did peak out in response to all of the commotion but quickly retreated back into their rooms upon seeing the masked gunmen. Peter was stunned to find that the men were taking Walter all beaten and tied up, with them in the same fashion.

Both of the Bishop men struggled but once they were thrown mercilessly into the back of a black van, they found all of their efforts useless.

As the masked men got into the speeding van with them, it made Peter even more concerned to find that his father wasn't moving.

His eyes were closed as well.

* * *

_**So...how did I do on topping that last cliffy? ;)**_


	9. The devil's bargain

_She was having a much clearer dream now._

_But she knew she wasn't herself. Olivia was someone else. She didn't know who. But she was someone who was too weak and frail to stand. Sitting by her side was the weirdest kind of animal she ever came across. It had to be some sort of genetically mutated animal. It looked like a tiger, orange with black stripes and a bit of fur. But the head and the body of the creature was more lizard-like, as big and vicious as a komodo dragon. And Olivia was stroking its back, petting it._

_"So, she knows everything now?" she found herself asking someone in the room with her._

_"She knows that we are asking her to carry the child to term and that we will come to relieve her of it when it is time."_

_"And what about Ziegler? It worries me that we haven't had any more trouble with him since we impregnated Miss Dunham."_

_"It worries me too," said the man. "We fear we might have a mole among us."_

_"Typical," Olivia grunted. "Another rebel in our group." She seemed to be delighted with the strange creature whose head rested on her lap and Olivia found herself scratching under its chin. "Go back to your world and tell your associate I want heightened security for Miss Dunham."_

_"You know if they want the child in perfect condition, they can't hurt her."_

_"I don't want to take any chances. I'm not a risk-taker like you are."_

_The man sighed and said, "I'll see what I can do."_

_Olivia smiled and said "thank you, William."_

A loud ring and Olivia's head was in a whirl. When she finally came to, Olivia was waking up from her bed and the morning light was peeking through the closed window curtains.

Her phone was still ringing.

She picked it up, not so surprised to see Broyles name on her caller ID. "Dunham."

"There's been an incident."

"You mean a case?" Olivia should've expected a new case to come around again so soon. They usually would come on days like today when she was still too ill to get up from bed.

"I meant a personal incident."

Olivia froze. Her phone nearly fell out of her hands when she heard Broyles words echo in her ear. "Get to Dr. Bishop's hotel room immediately."

~*~*~*~

Policemen were crowding the hallway outside of the Bishops' hotel room and the damage could be seen even in the halls. Olivia cautiously walked through the trenches into the hotel suite and saw the place had been struck by an inner hurricane. Furniture broken, glass pieces, everywhere, even dried blood at the scene of the crime.

And no Peter or Walter.

Charlie was inspecting the damage to the carpet on the floor. "You can definitely tell they were putting up one hell of a struggle with these guys. Who would've thought that Dr. Bishop would have it in him?"

Olivia was too distracted by all the damage around her, by all the worry building up inside of her. "You don't know what he's capable of, Charlie."

Her thoughts were so distracted that she didn't even feel Broyles brush past her. "The hotel had a sudden power outage around 1:30 last night. Seems the hotel fuse had been broken into to provide a distraction. We have a few witnesses who were on this floor when they heard the attack but nothing that will allow us to identify the abductors."

"What about witnesses outside the hotel? Someone had to have seen them come out."

"All hotel personnel outside of the hotel at the time went inside once the power went out to investigate," said Charlie. "It also took out the security cameras so we got no leads."

"Well maybe something's been going on with them," said Olivia. "Something not case related that I haven't heard about."

Broyles looked suspiciously. "You mean you haven't spoken to either Peter or Dr. Bishop lately?"

Olivia sighed. "No, I haven't. But if something was going on with them that would allow this to happen I would've heard about this some way."

"So far, my only theory is that Dr. Bishop is being held for ransom," said Broyles. "We have evidence that someone has been hacking into the Bureau's personal files in the past 24 hrs…specifically yours, Dunham."

"My…my files?"

Broyles nodded. "It could be that someone was looking for Dr. Bishop and discovered that he was currently working under your services. Every phone at the Bureau is being tapped. The abductors might even call you as well, Dunham. So if you hear anything, you will need to notify us immediately."

"Of course, I will." Olivia needed to come up with an excuse quickly. She needed to get away from all of this. "I should go to the lab and see if Agent Farnsworth has anything on the situation that could help us. She might have talked to the Bishops yesterday."

Broyles could suspiciously sense a feeling of dread inside Olivia. Clearly Olivia might have an inkling, an idea as to why this was happening, as it was her personal files that had been broken into, not the Bishops. He was about to ask but then decided against it.

"Go then," he said with a straight face. "I need to hear from you if you…"

"Hear anything," said Olivia as she was walking away. "Yeah, I know."

She walked away from the crime scene all the way to her car, hyperventilating as she got in.

The abductors…they were going to call her personally…not the Bureau.

She had a feeling…no, she knew.

She knew exactly what these abductors wanted.

~*~*~*~

"Walter? Damn you, Walter! Wake up!"

Peter had been coaxing his dad, who had been lying there for hours once they were out of the van and placed in a dark windowless room. This had to be a joke, Peter thought. His father couldn't possibly be dead. But Walter was very weak thanks to these a'holes. He had taken quite a beating that equaled his own.

After hours of intense silence, Peter was this close to coming to tears.

"Fwee fwi fwen bwine."

Peter relaxed and sighed heavily. "Damnit, Walter". Peter was agitated but joyous with relief. "Have you been sleeping this whole time?!"

Walter opened one of his eyes and said "well, we were rudely taken out of our room just before bedtime. How else was I supposed to get any sleep?"

Peter chuckled. "Forget it, then. Are you alright, at least?"

"Of course I am, boy," Walter said proudly. "I've taken worse in the testicles before."

They could hear noises, doors slamming and footsteps outside of the room. Before Peter could run up to the door to try and break it like hell, several men barged in and grabbed Peter and Walter with such immense force. They tightened them up with more restraints and even taped their mouths shut.

They were dragged down the halls on an empty building until they were brought into a larger room with more armed guards. A table was set up with a computer. Only one man stood out from the group of abductors and he was wearing a suit. He was obviously just arrived.

One of the masked men holding Peter said to the suited one. "We got two of them, Ziegler. We didn't have much of a choice but to take this troublemaker with us."

Ziegler looked at Peter. Indeed he would be the uncooperative one.

"This will work out even better than I thought," said Ziegler. "Have we found a number to contact Agent Dunham yet?"

Peter jerked his head up. His heart speeding rapidly upon hearing the sound of her name.

"Ready," said one of the men at the computer. Ziegler went over to the computer and turned on a device that was sitting right by it. He put on a pair of headphones and said "let's give her a call, then."

~*~*~*~

Olivia rushed into the lab relieved to see Astrid was there.

"You haven't heard from either of them?" asked Olivia.

"No, nothing," she said.

Olivia gave Astrid her cell phone. "We need to wire my phone to be tapped," said Olivia. "I have a feeling that I'm going to get a personal call about them in a matter of hours."

Astrid and Olivia worked to get the phone wired up and the computer ready to record the call as soon as it would come. Hours began to pass and the afternoon became dull and quiet as they waited silently in the lab.

Olivia thought about dozing off into sleep, throwing up, or eating another spicy squid dish…

…then, it rang.

She quietly signaled Astrid and she went over to the computer setting up the controls. The women in the lab were on pins and needles as Olivia picked up the phone and took a deep breath.

Caller ID: unknown.

She answered giving a very nervous "hello?"

There was deep breathing on the other end and then a deep voice spoke almost sounding like the devil himself.

"Agent Dunham."

Olivia had a hard time containing the chills running down her at the sound of this creepy voice.

"You have them?" she asked. "You have Dr. Bishop and his son?"

Back in the unknown building, Peter and Walter watched as Ziegler was speaking to Olivia on the phone with a sound-manipulating device. Peter did not like how Ziegler kept eyeing him and his father.

"Both of them were needed to allow for a fair two-for-two trade…you and your unborn for the lives of these two men."

Damn, Olivia thought to herself. She knew that this was what this whole situation would be about. The Observer warned her this much, and now it was finally happening.

"You son of a bitch," she responded grinding her teeth. "If you wanted me, you could've come right after me!"

"True…" said Ziegler. "But we believe this would be a far more convincing approach for you to abide to our will."

Peter couldn't believe what he was hearing. He couldn't believe that he and his own father were being used for these bastards to get their hands on Olivia and the baby. He rubbed his chin against the ropes to remove as much of the tape as he possibly could.

The gunmen noticed what he was doing and tried to stop him. But Peter managed to yell out in time. "DON'T DO IT, LIV!"

One of the gunmen instantly struck Peter in the stomach…

…and Olivia heard the whole thing. She put her hand to her mouth to contain the gasp but tears were beginning to stream down her eyes upon hearing the heartbreaking sound of Peter's voice.

"I suggest you make a decision quickly, Agent Dunham," said Ziegler. "As one-half of the ransom seems to be acting ...uncooperative. It is driving our patience."

Olivia tried to listen for Peter again but heard nothing.

She took her hand to wipe the tears from her eyes. "When and where?" she asked boldly.

"Ashland Park, 3am tonight. We will be at the reservoir…"

She kept the time and location locked in her memory even though Astrid was quietly recording the conversation.

"And Agent Dunham…you will come alone…or they both die."

A clicking sound and then a dial tone. The conversation was over.

Olivia took her damn long time closing the phone in her hands. Olivia had to deal with hostage negotiations like this before, but this one above all others hit her too personally with the creepy voice to match. Even the revelation behind the Bishops' kidnapping was sending shivers down Astrid's own spine as she tried to get over every word she had just listened in on.

"I…need a moment," was all Olivia could say. Astrid was far too understanding about it as Olivia made her way into her office. She shut the door, leaning her head against it, sobbing deeply…deeply for the mess she was in but moreso how she was starting to feel like a curse that could not be cleansed. No one around her was safe. Not even the father and son who shaped her to be the very curse she became.

* * *

**_AH is right! Will Olivia really surrender herself to save Peter and Walter? We shall see_****_._**

**_Since my readers are starting to take notice at the lack of Bolivia that I promised at the beginning (eep) I hope to make it up to you sometime soon. One thing is that I am taking suggestions as to where you want this story to go. I mean, Olivia is gonna be preggers with this kid for quite a while so I got room for lots of story-telling directions. I got a few ideas but I wanna hear your thoughts for consideration. Please PM them though to prevent reader spoilage. A standard review is still welcomed as well. ;) Later._**


	10. The exchange

**_Whoa. This is the longest I went without an update. Heh. The weekend off was good for me to get my head straight about where to go with the story. I enjoy the suggestions I've been getting...keep them up! And there will be more Bolivia coming like I promised. Patience is required though. Patience will be rewarded...just you wait! ;)_**

* * *

The hours flew by in the lab while Olivia and Astrid just sat there, trying to think…or trying NOT to think about the current situation at hand.

When Astrid returned to the lab from picking up some Thai food, she was surprised to see Olivia asleep at her desk mumbling to herself.

"Get over there." Olivia had her eyes closed but was talking incoherently in her sleep. "Don't let that trade happen…"

"Liv?"

"Don't let them take her!"

"Olivia!"

Astrid nudged Olivia slightly and she swung her head back to reveal glistening sweat on her face. She was now looking at Astrid with exhausted eyes.

"Sorry about that, but you fell asleep. I figure you wanted your dinner before it got cold."

Olivia then spent the next hour eating several varieties of spicy Thai foods that she couldn't stop craving for. Astrid tried to not throw up at the sight of Olivia scarfing it all down, which was a bit ironic given the kind of lab she was working in.

"Olivia, we only have 5 hours left before this meeting happens. Don't you think we should call Broyles?"

"No! Astrid, you heard the call. They'll kill them both if I show up with anyone else…and I can tell that they really mean it."

"So," said Astrid. "Are you going to…turn yourself over to them? That's crazy!"

Olivia dropped her down struggling to take deep breaths in the midst of all the stress and anguish building up inside her. "What other choice do I have? Those people that have Peter and Walter…they'll stop at nothing to get what they want."

"They want you?"

Olivia shook her head. "Of course they don't want ME. They just want the baby."

"Then…Olivia, that can't be good. Suppose you do let them take you. Then what happens once you have this kid? They're not gonna just let you go. They'll probably hold you till the baby's born, then put a bullet through your head and run off. And who knows if they really are going to let Peter and Walter go? Sorry to upset you with that possible scenario but that's probably…"

"Astrid, wait! You just gave me an idea…"

Astrid was confused. "I did?"

"I think," said Olivia. her mind speeding with the potential plan in her head. "I think I know how I can save them."

~*~*~*~

The two women drove deep into the woods of Ashland Park, without notifying another soul about what was to happen this night.

The car stopped as they got close to the reservoir, but not too close as Olivia was to confront these captors alone. The engine turned off and the women were in complete darkness except for the flashlight that Olivia turned on.

"I'm going to walk from here," said Olivia as she stepped out of the car.

Astrid was worried. "Do you even know if this plan is going to work?"

"I'm hoping at least half of it does."

Olivia surveyed the trees and found a sign pointing towards the reservoir…about a half-mile's walk. She turned to Astrid one more time. "If I can get Walter and Peter out of this, I want you to wait for them and get them out of here as soon as you can."

"Got it."

"And I mean it, Astrid. Leave as soon as you have them…even if I'm not with them."

Damn, Astrid thought. Did Olivia really just ordered her to leave her behind if anything went wrong? Before Astrid could express how wrong this plan of Olivia's might possibly be…Olivia had already disappeared into the trees and Astrid could only wait at the car for the events to unfold.

Olivia was walking blindly into the dark nearly tripping over several times. Her flashlight could only show glimpses of the steep hill she was walking down until she got to the bottom.

She could catch as glimpse of the reservoir beyond the trees and another steep hill just ahead of her.

Nearby, Ziegler and his team were set up at the top of that hill. Looking down, they could see a small light slowly approach.

Peter and Walter were there tied up and forced on their knees with several gunmen surrounding them.

"Looks like she's here," said Ziegler. "Check the thermal camera."

One of the men had a strange camera and he started spanning the area. The camera was connected to a monitor that Walter got a curious glimpse of from where he was being held.

"Peter, look," Walter nudged his son.

"What now? Another ladybug?"

"Look at the monitor."

The monitor turned the dark woodly scenario into an array of rainbow colors. Olivia's figure could be seen coming closer and closer on the monitors. The colors on Olivia revealing the different temperatures of body warmth on her person.

Walter whispered "See the flashing white light along her waistline?"

Peter could barely see it. The light seemed to be flashing from Olivia like a mystic aura. "Is that?" Peter spoke.

Walter sounded very excited. "It's the child, Peter."

"Pipe down, both of you." One of the gunmen gave Walter and Peter a good kick in the back to silence them.

The colorful image of the woods and of Olivia had completely disappeared from the monitors. "She's alone, sir."

Ziegler placed a black mask over his head and turned on the large spotlight. The light flashed downon Olivia as she stood there in the heart of the valley, nearly blinding her.

Olivia heard the voice above her, the same deep devilish voice that she heard on the phone hours ago. "Well done, Agent Dunham. We almost doubted your ability to follow orders."

She could only see shadows of figures standing on the hill looking down on her. Some of them clearly had guns pointed at her.

"Where are they?" Olivia demanded. "I'm not coming another step closer unless I know they're safe."

Ziegler ordered with a wave of his hand for his men to drag Peter and Walter down the hill. They stopped about halfway down. Olivia pointed her flashlight at them. It had been her first glimpse of Peter and Walter in weeks and she was stunned…to see that sea of purple and blue on Peter's face…on his eyes. Olivia was losing her ability to breath at the sight but she had to keep it together, she hadn't even gone through with her plan yet.

Peter was equally stunned to see her…to just see her. He hadn't laid eyes on her since she stormed out of the lab that day…the day she learned about the plasma growing around the baby inside of her. But it felt a whole lot longer than two weeks to him.

At that moment, Olivia turned back to the shadows at the top of the hill giving them a bold order. "You're going to let them go…now."

"I'm afraid it won't be that simple."

"Well…then," said Olivia. "I can make it simple for the both of us." She smirked as she pulled out a small loaded gun from her coat pocket.

Ziegler was a bit confused when he saw this, but then, he began to laugh, a devilish laugh that came through the sound manipulator on his mask. Olivia could hear laughter of the other men hidden on the hill as well.

"You plan to fight all of us with a single revolver? Don't be a fool, Agent Dunham. There are 12 of us and only one of you."

"I know," she said. "Except I have the upper hand here."

None of the men on the hill, not even Peter and Walter expected to see Olivia do what she was doing infront of their very eyes. She took the gun in her hand…and put it to her own head!_ The hell?!_ Peter thought. Olivia had completely lost her mind. Her fingers were even on the damn trigger ready to pull!

"I have what you want inside of me," said Olivia. "And we both know that if anything should happen to me, will happen to the baby. So why don't you let the Bishops go? Because if you don't, I pull the trigger and you lose everything!"

Ziegler's voice called out, the shock of this woman blackmailing him. "You wouldn't."

"Given the hell I've had to deal with since this baby was put inside of me…I would," said Olivia. "I really would."

Ziegler turned away from the scene and threw off his mask in anger. He had been tricked, but he wasn't going to let this situation go easily. He gave the approved order for the men holding Peter and Walter to release them. Olivia kept a good hold on the gun pointed at her own hand, all the while eying the spot where she could see Walter and Peter.

Walter was freed of his bonds first. "Scram old timer!" said the gunman. Peter was freed soon after, and was blindly walking towards Olivia. His father grabbed a hold of him. "No, son. Don't be foolish."

Peter didn't care. It was his damn instinct calling for him to rush straight over to Olivia and carry her out of this terrible scenario she was unwillingly part of. He was so close, just feet away from her. He could touch her if he wanted to.

Too bad his father was correct. Olivia was staging an escape plan for the two of them and Peter THIS close to screwing it up. Walter was now dragging Peter farther away from their captors…from Olivia…but at a very slow pace thanks to the hesitant situation.

Ziegler could see the two men slowly walk away past Olivia and disappear into the woods behind her. He leaned over to one of his snipers lying low and pointing his gun at Olivia and whispered "take her in the foot, so she cannot escape."

A few intense moments later, when Olivia knew that Peter and Walter had gone from the scene, now safe, she started to slowly lower the gun in her hand.

The sniper knew this was the moment to take the shot.

Ziegler turned his head, sensing some unusual movement near the hill...but too late. A loud bang and his sniper went down. His other gunmen began to fire back at a small group of about five armed shadows charging at them.

It was an ambush.

"Damn you, Guinevere!" He called out.

Olivia stood there...as the whole area turned into a warfield. But now she finally had her chance to run and she took it.

Ziegler saw this though, and he grabbed a rifle aiming it at her foot. The unexpected attackers were few in number and could easily be taken out. But he knew he had to be very careful where he shot Olivia.

He fired, the bullet whooshed past Olivia, almost grazing her. It was enough to cause her to lose her balance as she was struggling to climb out of that valley.

However, a pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around her, preventing her fall.

Her mind was disoriented and the gun battle was still ringing in her ears but she had no choice but to allow her feet to keep moving with whoever it was that was dragging her in the blinding dark.

"PETER, UP HERE!"

At the top of the hill, Olivia could see the source of the voice. Walter was sticking a flashlight out. He was in the frontseat of the very car Olivia came in.

Then she realized who it was that was holding her…half dragging her the whole way.

Peter practically threw himself and Olivia into the backseat. "GO! DRIVE!"

That was Astrid's cue to hit the gas and she sped all four of them away from the ensuing gunshots that still rang out in the distance.

Olivia finally caught her breath when the car made its way out of the park. Peter was still holding her.

"You okay?" he asked her softly.

"Yeah…you and Walter…?"

"Perfectly fine," Walter called out from the frontseat. "Except Peter nearly gave me a heart attack when he shoved me to the ground and ran back the other way. A fine son you are…" Walter then muttered "…leaving me to go back for a woman whose not even carrying YOUR child."

Much to his horror and embarrassment, Peter could hear him, which meant that Olivia could hear him as well. But he was too tired to want to hit or threaten his father. All he could do now was but on a brave face for Olivia.

After everything they went through, Peter could only smirk and sarcastically say "sorry, Walter!"


	11. A long overdue talk

_**So I'm going to admit that I suck at writing romance fics. My ability to do so is almost on the same level as George Lucas. LOL. I do my best though. Nothing exciting really happens at the moment but if you're a Peter/Olivia fan...well...I have a feeling that you're gonna enjoy this chapter a bit too much! Heehee.**_

* * *

The four of them had to go straight to the Bureau building. Olivia was alone with Broyles in his office, and an intense argument was heating up between them.

Walter was trying to listen in the best he could.

"What was that all about?" Peter asked the moment Olivia came out.

"Broyles had to give me a good talking to about how I didn't inform him about the kidnapper calling me. Shouldn't have mattered though seeing that we all made it out alive."

Peter watched Olivia and could sense that something was troubling her. Clearly she was a bit disappointed that the mysterious ambush threw everything into chaos when Peter and Walter escaped.

"Were you really gonna let them take you?" he asked.

"I don't think that's a concern anymore, Peter." She ran her fingers through her hair. "They have a new room prepared for you and Walter back at the hotel. But Broyles wants you to talk to him about your kidnappers…what they looked like. I'm going home."

"Liv!"

She turned away from Peter and headed straight down the hall. Peter was still calling for her but Olivia was cranky, moody, tired, and hormonal. She needed to get some sleep even though the sun was already up to start a new day.

Olivia stepped out of the Bureau building to be greeted by a large limousine parked infront of the entrance.

"Agent Dunham!"

Olivia froze upon seeing who was greeting her. "Hello…Nina."

Nina Sharp stepped out of the limousine greeting Olivia with a mischievous smile as if she had been waiting specifically for her.

"I was rather shocked to hear that you were…expecting."

Olivia wished at that moment that she could rip the smug off that woman's face. "It's not what you think," she said coldly.

"Oh, I'm well aware that it's not," Nina smiled. "Broyles and I had already conversed on the matter of a twisted scientific cult having done this to you. And seeing that you've had more than enough to deal with in your difficult life…I must say that you have my deepest condolences."

This was disturbing Olivia to no end. Nina seemed to be acting unnaturally friendly…moreso than usual…and it was making her very suspicious.

"Did you really come all this way to Boston just to talk to me about my pregnancy?"

"Of course not dear. But while I'm in the neighborhood, I would like to get a briefing on your condition given last night's events…as a caring concerned associate of course."

Man, did news have a way of traveling fast with Nina Sharp. Olivia stared her down. "I'm fine." She walked past Nina without saying another word.

"I'm willing to offer my services to you when you need them, Olivia. I know it's easy to want to deny any help in your…delicate condition."

Olivia stopped dead in her tracks. Delicate condition? Those were the same words that came out of the Observer's mouth.

That bitch…she DID have something to do with this. She was involved. There was no doubting in Olivia Dunham's mind now.

But Olivia wasn't going to let that show just yet. Slowly, she turned her head back to Nina. "I really appreciate it," Olivia said keeping a straight face. "But I think I can deal with this on my own."

Nina watched as the agent turned her back on her for the last time. She smirked as she got back into her limousine and pulled out her cell phone.

"William…," she said. "Yes…I just spoke with her. She and the child are perfectly fine. But I would watch my back if I were you. Our agent is quite clever, and sooner or later she's going to catch on to your involvement in all of this."

~*~*~*~

His latest abduction had changed him.

Peter realized now that he couldn't let fear get in the way of the things he knew that needed to be done. This was more than a want to him now. It was a need for the both of them for him to talk to Olivia. SHE just didn't know it yet.

He was a bit hesitant the moment he knocked on her door. Yet as soon as the door opened to reveal Olivia, all of his nervousness seemed to have vanished.

Olivia had dark rings under her eyes, a clear indication that she didn't get any sleep during the day like she planned to. And yet she managed a faint glimpse of a smile the moment she saw him.

"Peter…"

He smiled back. "Hey."

"How are you and your father doing?"

"Walter's recovering surprisingly well." There was a long silence between them and then Peter decided to take the plunge. "May I?"

Olivia didn't say anything but opened the door to allow Peter to come into her apartment. "I'd offer you something to drink," she said "But…I…you know…"

"Yeah, sucks, don't it? Don't worry I filled myself up before I came over, like I usually do."

Olivia smirked and said "you know…I actually miss drinking more than anything…as awful as it sounds."

Peter was already making a comfortable spot for himself on one end of the couch and he hoped it was inviting enough for Olivia to join him. But she didn't seem willing to give in at first. The brief smile on her face was disappearing and was left with a look of sadness that made Peter a bit stunned.

"That day I left the lab," Olivia was stuttering. "I…I was…I don't know what I was doing…I was…"

"…losing it? It happens, Liv. You think no one else would've been that pissed off if they were in your situation?"

Olivia crossed her arms. "Not many people go through what I…what we…go through."

Peter nodded. "I know."

She slowly made her way to the other end of the couch and cautiously sat down. Her face seemed blank, void of emotion when she stared away from Peter and said, "when I was working on the Live Mannequin case…the Observer came to me."

"The Observer?" said a surprised Peter. "Walter's friend, the Observer?"

"He's apparently working for them…"

"The guys who did this to you?"

"I know I'm having a hard time believing it myself. He said that all I had to do was go through this…and then they'll come pick up the baby once it's born…and then…and then I'm supposed to pretend like none of this ever happened…that you and Walter getting kidnapped on account of me…"

"Liv, you didn't…"

"But it's true, Peter. Do you know what the worst thing was that I realized about yesterday? This man, Ziegler…who kidnapped you…he hacked into my files, gathered information about the people closest to me. That's how knew to kidnap you and Walter. Those files had information on my family, Peter."

She put her hands to her face. Peter could see how resilient she was fight…to not show tears infront of him, but she was clearly falling apart inside. It wouldn't be long now before she exposed all of that to him. "If Rachel and Ella hadn't run away…they would've been taken instead of you. How would I be able to live with myself then…if he used THEM to get to me?"

Peter took the moment to cautiously move closer to Olivia, doing no more than to put a hand on her shoulder. To do anymore than that would be too much too soon.

"Liv, you're just gonna have to believe me on this one, alright? None of this is your fault. They're the ones that did this to you without your consent. You shouldn't have anything to do with their fight. They forced you in the middle of it. That's not something you should taking fault for."

"I know. I can't help it though, Peter. What happened to you and Walter yesterday was only strike one. I still have many months to go before this is all over and so much can happen before then. So many people can get hurt. I really was thinking about doing it...just turning myself over to them so that it won't happen again...so that all of this can stop."

Olivia's face was getting pale from stress and absolute exhaustion. Perhaps if she finally got some sleep then all of those bad thoughts she was feeling would go away. "You haven't slept in over a day, Liv," said Peter. "I'll go so you can try and get some rest."

He got up to leave until…

"Wait."

He turned back to Olivia curiously. She kept looking down at the floor keeping her eyes away from Peter. "Do you...think you could do something for me before you go?"

Peter turned all the way to Olivia now and she led him down her hallway. "Last week when I took that iodide, I hurt myself a bit too much. I know it's a weird for me to ask but I..."

"Where's it at?" Peter asked. "I can prep it for you."

She led Peter into her bedroom where the medicine laid on top of her dresser. Peter prepared the injection while she went into the bathroom to change into nightclothes. She might as well be taking this stuff right before going to sleep if it was gonna make her dizzy and drowsy afterwards. Maybe in this way she'll finally get a decent night's sleep...one she hadn't known in weeks.

Peter nearly broke the syringe in his hand when Olivia came out. She was wearing a camisole top and briefs. This shouldn't have come off as much of a shocker to him, given what Peter had seen of her in the tank.

But the upper part of her was distracting him to no end. He tried to not let that show.

There was no greater proof that Olivia was pregnant than the fact that her breasts were no longer the strictly firm ones hidden behind the pantsuits. With only the thin layer of the camisole top shielding them from bare view (and nothing to hold them back), Peter noticed they had sagged, only slightly so. Not to mention, that they had no doubt grown in size. Nonetheless, these changes didn't make Olivia herself any less...attractive...to gawk at.

The moment his eyes caught a glimpse of tiny buds peeking through the fabric, Peter knew he had to turn his eyes away and avoid looking at them again at all costs. But by this time, Peter's face had turn all various shades of red. Thank god Olivia hadn't noticed as she crawled into bed.

She placed her fingers around the area of bare skin on her waist waiting for the needle to enter. Peter was more shaky and cautious than usual when he saw Olivia closed her eyes and bite down on her lower lip, preparing for impact.

The needle went in and she instantly clung herself to Peter, releasing a gasp of pain that could not be helped. Peter held her this time, so she wouldn't hit her head again.

Seconds later, Olivia began to freeze and Peter pulled her in closer. He was now squeezing her to control the shivering, rubbing his hand up and down her thinly covered back to keep her warm.

Peter's face turned red again. It didn't occur to him until that very moment that he was practically feeling her liberated breasts being pressed hard against him

"Liv?" He opened his mouth quickly to get the perverted thoughts out of the gutter. Good thinking.

"Hmm?"

"I meant to tell you that day...I meant to say that it's okay to be scared. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared for you."

At this point, Olivia was feeling dizzy and was losing her ability to stay awake. Peter was a blur in her vision now but still she smiled and said "thank you Peter. That means a lot to me."

"You're strong, Liv. You can get through this."

"How so?"

"Go by the day, you know...baby steps." Peter wanted to hit himself in the head. "Ah, damn…sorry…that was a REALLY bad analogy"

Olivia chuckled. "It's alright, Peter. I'm fine."

Those were her last words for the night. Olivia seemed to have passed out in Peter's arms. He carefully laid her down on the bed. This time, her head landed on her pillow instead of the headboard. He tucked Olivia in, feeling hopeful that she would finally get one good night of sleep in the midst of this entire ordeal.

Peter was wrestling with a tempting decision as he slowly made his way out of the apartment…barely making it out of Olivia's bedroom. Should he really go and call it a night…or should he stay?

* * *

_**There you go. I do what I can to keep my promises to my readers. Reviews are much appreciated. Moreso now since my review box has been quite thin lately. :( Make a writer happy and more unnaturrally addictive to reviews! :)**_


	12. Spicy Cravings

_**Nothing happens really in this chapter. It's mostly angsty filler and background story info but I tried to add a pinch Bolivia fluff in the mix. Ugh I hate writing this story already for so many reasons. It will get more interesting and exciting later, I swear, people!**_

* * *

She could smell something outside of her bedroom, hear it too. The smell was familiar but both slightly nauseating and intoxicating at the same time.

Olivia put on a robe and grabbed her gun, paranoid that she failed to properly lock her doors overnight. She barely remembered Peter coming over to talk last night, but she could not recall watching him leave.

The noises were coming from her kitchen. She waited against the doorway and quickly made her move...pointing her gun straight at the intruder.

"AH! Liv!"

Liv jumped upon recognizing the face.

"Oh god, sorry Peter!" They start started breathing normally again. "I didn't know you were here and…are you cooking?"

Peter laughed and said "what? You don't think I can cook? I can do a lot of things with food when Walter's not interfering."

Olivia grabbed a seat at her kitchen table. "So did you…did you spend the night here? My memory's a bit hazy."

"Yeah…well…you were out like a light after I gave you your iodide. But I was a bit too drunk last night from hitting the bars before I came over. I tried to call a cab but I ended up passing out on your couch. I hope you didn't mind. The couch is still in good shape."

Peter went back to cooking breakfast on the stove. He hoped that Olivia was falling for his lie. If Peter was in a sober enough position to give Olivia her weekly medication, he was clearly sober enough to call a cab to take him back to the hotel. But he didn't. It was mostly worry that compelled him to stay. Olivia was in bad shape when he came to see her, and so he stayed the night…just to make sure she didn't get any worse…that she didn't lose her senses without having him nearby.

"Did you make all of that for yourself?" Olivia asked, referring to the large pan filled with eggs and bacon that Peter was busily cooking.

"No. I'm making it for you, Liv."

Olivia saw the gesture as weird, kind, and necessary all at once. Her food cravings had gotten worse recently. Perhaps the cravings explained the constant stress and insomnia.

Peter dumped the smorgasbord of eggs and bacon on a plate and put it infront of her but Olivia still felt a bit nauseous…and empty. "Something wrong, Liv? I figured at this stage in pregnancy you would be all over this…"

"I am…" said Olivia. She was really hungry. She was. "Something's missing."

She went to her fridge and starting scavenging for anything that would make her breakfast complete. "I don't think you're gonna find anything in there," said Peter. "Those eggs and bacon were the only edible things I found in your fridge that didn't look gross."

Finally Olivia pulled out a bag of jalapenos and went to grab a cutting board and a knife

"Jalapenos, Liv?"

"I don't know what it is," she smiled as she started to dice them. "But for some reason…this baby REALLY likes spicy foods…or anything that smells atrocious."

"Well I guess that explains why you have that bloody slab of meat taking over your fridge."

"You mean the sheep liver?" Olivia asked him. "I plan to cook that later today."

Peter looked at her with disgust. "Oh! Now that is just gross!"

Olivia finished dicing the jalapenos and dumped them all over her eggs. The peppers really helped her to eat. In a matter of minutes, she managed to clean off her entire plate not caring for the incredibly spicy taste that was left in her mouth afterwards.

~*~*~*~

When she and Peter went into the Bureau later that day, Olivia took with her a giant bell pepper to eat. "Do you really think the kid wants you to be eating that stuff?" Charlie asked as she watched her take a massive bite of the bell pepper.

Peter explained to him. "Yeah. I'm still trying to figure that one out myself. And you don't wanna know what she's been keeping in her fridge."

Charlie shook his head and laughed. "I won't ask then."

"Knock it off you two." Olivia began to lick her fingers of the residue. She then turned to Charlie and asked, "What did you gather on this Ziegler person that kidnapped Peter and Walter?"

"You mean the name Ziegler doesn't ring a bell to you? Harold Ziegler?"

Olivia couldn't recall a thing. "Not really."

"I thought you would considering that you were researching the Guinevere Cult case like crazy. Well, believe or not we're talking about the Harold Ziegler who blew the whistle on them."

"Wait," said Olivia. "This was the guy that told the FBI about the cult?"

Charlie nodded "Same one."

"What exactly did he ratted to the FBI about?" Peter asked curiously.

"We were trying to track down a scientific sect that was working underground in Boston," Olivia explained. "There were a lot of reports of missing women at the time and then this guy shows up out of nowhere, claiming to be a member of something called the Guinevere Cult and was trying to get out. He reported that the group was doing tests to illegally clone humans. Women in and outside of the cult were being impregnated."

Olivia looked down, sighing at the ironic twist that came from her desire to want to investigate the crimes of this cult...now having made her their next victim…their test subject. She continued on "Ziegler gave us the location where these practices were taking place. They wouldn't let female agents take part in the raid. They must've caught on to us cause when the FBI got there, the place was empty. No sign as to where they went. Later they were excavating the place and they found a mass grave…women and babies."

"Oh god," Peter said. "I think I'm gonna be sick."

Even Olivia had a hard time continuing. She was sharing the same feelings of nausea at the twisted history of the cult.

Charlie spoke "we theorize that the bodies found in that grave were all the failed test subjects from the cloning experiments. All the children found in that grave seem to have died of natural causes, we assume either stillbirth or just born prematurely. The mothers in that grave had various wounds. A few of them were still pregnant and were probably suffering from health problems when they died. The others were murdered, no doubt about that."

"I don't think they were going to let any of the surrogate mothers live anyway," said Olivia. "Even if they have ONE success."

Peter knew that Olivia was referring to herself on the matter. She told him that once the baby was born, they would take it away and leave Olivia alone…but would they really? Would leaving Olivia 'alone' mean killing her once she gave birth? He was starting to feel nauseous again at the thought…a woman being forced to have a kid then have it taken away from you…then be killed. It was a sick twisted sense of "purpose" that Olivia of all people did not deserve. He didn't understand why Olivia seemed to be bound to these unfortunate fates all the time when she devoted her whole life to helping others.

"But it pretty much what Ziegler told us," explained Charlie. "After the raid, he was cleared of his involvement...freed to go. But nobody's heard from him since you and your dad got kidnapped."

"So…are any of these people on OUR side?" Peter asked.

Olivia shook her head. "There's no one to trust now...not even here. Broyles won't tell me where he got his information on my pregnancy but I'm convinced he learned it from Nina. And now I'm convinced that Nina had something to do with this. She was involved in the plot to impregnate me."

"Easy, Liv," said Charlie. "I think you're developing a lot of paranoia about this. You should probably call it a day. I'll keep looking through all the info we have on Ziegler and the cult in the meantime."

"Thanks Charlie." Olivia quietly left his desk area and Peter followed her down a nearly empty hallway. "What do you mean Nina's involved?" asked Peter. "Where did you get THAT idea?"

"I just know!" Olivia tried not to yell but wanted to make her statement clear. "I know…it's a ridiculous theory. There's nothing tying Massive Dynamic to the Guinevere Cult but I'm going to find it."

Peter gently grabbed her arms and said, "deep breaths, Liv." She was still shaking all the paranoia.

"Sorry," Olivia said under her breath. "I ran into her yesterday on the way out of the parking lot. She knew about my pregnancy and the way she talked to me…it disturbed me…how she was checking up on me…or how she was offering my help. It's probably all in my head...the dreams again."

"Liv…what dreams?"

She shook her head. "I don't even know anymore. They probably are just dreams now. They don't mean anything…not like the one I had before."

Peter gave her a reassuring smile and said, "Try me, Liv. What dream from before are you talking about?"

Olivia smiled with appreciation that Peter wanted to listen to her, no matter how insane she would sound. "The first real case we worked on…the 80-year-old baby…I had to fly to Massive Dynamic to get the optic camera to catch Christopher…and while I was in the lobby waiting to see Nina, I had this daydream…I'm sitting in the lobby with Broyles talking about why I was put on the team. Then he asked me when I was with John if I was...'safe'. Seconds later, I feel this stabbing in my stomach and I feel this thing growing inside of me getting bigger and bigger by the second. I was going through exactly what that Daisy/Lorraine woman went through. I didn't think it meant anything then...but why would I have that dream in Massive Dynamic's building when I wasn't even asleep? Call me crazy, Peter. But I think I had a vision of the future in there and I was too blind to see it."

Peter pulled Olivia into a light hug. She hesitantly wrapped her arms around him. "It's not crazy, Liv. We can find out together what Nina knows about this."

"But Charlie's right," said Liv. "It's just been a hectic few days for me. I need some time to clear my head before I go charging into Nina's office with accusations on a bunch of dreams and theories."

~*~*~*~

Several weeks began to pass by quietly.

Olivia had never truly accepted her pregnancy until that day...when she found that she could no longer fit into the regular black pants she wore for work. _Crap_, she thought. She took her hand to her abdomen and rubbed around the whole area until she found…a slight bump.

She was starting to show now. It made her feel so…humiliated. She didn't know how she would be able to show her face at work once the baby got bigger. As the days passed, she went to the Bureau only on urgent work agendas using her long trench coat to conceal the bump. Few people at the Bureau knew about her pregnancy. Her legacy with John having already brought her down a peg…what would they all think when they saw her walking around with a very pregnant belly?

No new word from Ziegler or the Guinevere Cult...though that still didn't stop Olivia from having weird dreams about them…about Nina…about William Bell…even about the baby. But she was determined to push all of that out of her mind. There was nothing to connect ANY of those things. Not yet anyway. Olivia still continued to research any Massive Dynamic links but continued to fall short.

She also continued to live a life of paranoia…locking her doors and windows every night, keeping the gun by her bedside. She never told Peter or Walter about this. She didn't want them to worry. However, Olivia did give them the leather book that the Observer gave her for research purposes.

"This is fascinating," said Walter. "This book tells quite a remarkable story about the cult's beliefs and origins."

"Yeah," Astrid said, rolling her eyes. "Except most of it's pretty unreadable."

"Except for Z.F.T." Walter pointed to the initials written on one of the pages opposite of the page featuring the cult's symbol.

"It could be that this belonged to someone in Z.F.T. cause you can tell they wrote it in. You know I've noticed these scribbles have various lines and curves that are similar. It could be the whole thing is written with some kind of secret code…a puzzle. But I've tried every mode of deciphering it."

An idea came to Walter at that moment. "Young Assistant Lady, I think I may have a theory."

"You do?"

"The name Guinevere…it's so unusual. Why would they use that name for a cult? Why would their leader be named such?"

Astrid said sarcastically. "Maybe it's a pretty name."

"Astrid is a pretty name too, but I know absolutely no one on earth with such a name."

Astrid grinded her teeth.

Walter was struggling with putting his thoughts together. "Do they still have those places…you know…those places where you could find things…look up things on various subjects…"

Astrid raised an eyebrow. "You mean a library?"

"Yes, a library!" Walter decreed. "We must go at once and research on this Guinevere name. I think there are other ways to find out more about this strange sect without the book."

While they were at the library, Peter went into Olivia's office in the lab. He was smiling and hiding something behind his back.

"What do you want?" asked Olivia without looking up from her Massive Dynamic research. A sudden smell in the air caused Olivia to lift her head. "What is that I'm smelling?"

"Oh I dunno," Peter teased. "It could be...I might have a box of super-hot buffalo wings behind me."

Olivia got up from her desk. "Give 'em to me."

"Who said I got them for you?" asked Peter.

Olivia went up to Peter and tried to reach around him for them but Peter kept the box away from Olivia as much as he could…until she finally yanked the box out of his hand. "You do NOT tease an FBI agent like that!"

Peter laughed as she took the buffalo wings back to her desk and began to eat. "I couldn't resist."

"Just try and do that again a few months from now," she said coldly. "You'll regret it."

Olivia's phone rang alerting her she had a new text message. The feeling of satisfaction that came from having a few bites of wings suddenly changed.

"Who is it?" Peter asked…not liking Olivia's look of shock as she read the message on her phone.

"Oh my god…" said Olivia. "It's Rachel. She's wants to meet with me."

* * *

_**HAHA! Rachel is back! I can't wait to write the next chap cause you'll get to see her response to Livvy being preggers! Heh. A lovely flower for a review? :D**_


	13. Bring them down

Before stepping inside of the restaurant, Olivia took a deep breath. She looked down and wondered if the baby bump was going to be visibly noticeable. Yesterday, she had to buy new clothes for the first time in years. New blouses and pants to cope with every part of her that was growing. She wrapped her trench coat tightly around her and finally entered…hoping that she could conceal it.

With everything going on in her life, Rachel was not ready to know. If Olivia was lucky, perhaps Rachel would never have to know.

Having arrived there first, Olivia slid into a booth and ordered her food.

"Liv?"

She looked up and saw her…her baby sister. Olivia got up and hugged her. "Rachel, what on earth did you think you were doing?! Taking Ella and running away like that?!"

"I didn't know what else to do," Rachel explained as she sat down in the booth with Olivia.

"I could've helped you!" Olivia wasn't yelling but was maintaining a stern voice that didn't disrupt the other patrons in the restaurant. "Where is Ella now?"

"I have a friend in town watching her."

Olivia couldn't believe her sister. "Did you really think you could really get away with this?"

Rachel was very upset, near tears. "Well, I didn't think you were gonna be of any help. But you're right. It was selfish and stupid of me to take Ella and run like that. I got a lawyer now."

"What kind of lawyer?" Olivia asked curiously.

"You know…" Rachel leaned over to whisper. "One of those underground types. This guy I found, he worked with a mob group once…helped him get off scot-free. So I thought he must be good."

"Oh god, Rachel. You can't be serious!"

"Look, I need to prove that I can do this, alright?! I can't get one person on my side…except for you. And it will all be over before you know it. Ella and I will just hide out around here for a little while until we get a court date set up. Heck, we might even move back in with you for a little while. Families sticking together…that kind of stuff."

The concept of family sticking together frightened Olivia…especially given her current situation. No relative or friend was going to be safe around her. Nor was Olivia going to be safe some months from now.

"Listen…Rachel," Olivia said with much sincerity as she could. "I don't think it's a good idea for you and Ella to stay with me right now. In fact, I don't think it's a good idea for you two to be anywhere…near here right now."

"What are you talking about, Liv?"

"Maybe you should forget about taking Greg to court and stay low…I mean really low. Go back into hiding for a little while."

Rachel was confused. "Wait, so now you're up for the idea of me running away? Geez, I can't get a straight answer from you about anything."

At that time, a waiter brought Olivia the food she ordered…a large very bloody steak with a side of peppers. She took the hot sauce on her table and was pouring nearly the entire bottle onto her steak. Rachel felt disturbed by this. "Something looks really different about you. Are you okay, Liv?"

"And what exactly…" Olivia said in-between bites of her food "…do you find so different about me?"

Rachel eyed her sister up-and-down carefully. "Well for one thing, you look paler than you usually are. And your coat can't hide it, Liv…you're starting to look a little bulgy."

Olivia used her best acting abilities to act as though she had no idea what Rachel was talking about. "Bulgy?"

"That and I've never seen you so obsessed with putting hot sauce on anything ridiculous like a steak and…" Rachel gave a sudden gasp of shock. "Oh…my…god! Are you pregnant?!"

Olivia nervously shook her head. "No…no of course not. Why on earth would you think that?!"

"I knew you felt a little bit weird when you hugged me. You have a baby bump! Show me!"

At this point, Olivia had given up. She slowly opened up her coat and Rachel took her hand and felt around her stomach. Olivia rolled her eyes and Rachel finally felt the bump.

She was nothing but thrilled now and was practically screaming. "Livvy! I don't believe it!"

"It's not what you think, Rachel." Olivia took a deep breath and quickly her mind went to work to come up with her 'story'. "It's not mine." Rachel was surprised. "Not yours?"

"This rich couple's paying me $5million for me to have their baby. It was a lot of money that I thought could help out both of us…so I agreed to do it. I'm starting to regret it now. But there's nothing I can do about that but have this baby and get it over with."

Rachel laughed. "Nice try, sis. You mean to tell me that the government isn't paying you enough at your job so you're randomly taking 9 months off to carry someone else's baby? You love that job, Livvy. You can't fool me."

"It's the truth, Rachel." Olivia chugged the glass of water at her table angry that her sister wouldn't take her half-truth seriously. Technically, the fact the Olivia was a surrogate mother was the only truth she could share with her sister.

Suddenly, Rachel put her hands to her mouth trying not to get overly excited. "Holy crap! It's Peter's baby, isn't it?!"

Olivia began to choke on the water she was drinking. "What?! No! I'm telling you the truth!"

"Liv, I completely understand. After everything that happened with John, you're just scared that everyone at your workplace is going to look down on you once they see that Peter knocked you up."

"Oh dear god…" Olivia put hands to her face in absolute embarrassment.

Rachel was completely oblivious and gave her sister a reassuring hug. "Aw, it's okay, Liv. These things happen."

~*~*~*~

While seeing her sister again after months of worrying was quite relieving, it was still adding to the stress that Olivia was enduring. Soon it was that time of the week again…the only time of the week where she could be at peace for a little while. Although her mind still weighed heavily with the knowledge that her sister and niece could be in danger because of her…at least Olivia had Peter's visits to her apartment to unleash that stress…even though she would feel slightly remorseful about it.

"The doctor is in," Peter said with a smirk.

Olivia just pulled him in. "Get in here."

"What's the matter?" Peter asked as he followed her down the hall of her apartment. "Worried that people will think we're up to something?"

For the past weeks Peter had been coming over on the day that Olivia had to take her iodide. She requested for Peter to give to her at night so she could go to sleep easily. It was the one night a week that was very private and not even Walter knew that Peter was disappearing to come over here. Even it was only for a few minutes to give her the medicine, Peter felt grateful to help…although it was now very disappointing that she was now wearing oversized t-shirts to bed instead of her usual nightwear that she had quickly outgrown.

"More like Rachel…" Thinking about Rachel's misconception at the restaurant Olivia went on to say "but I dunno if I really want to get into what she thinks about all of this."

"Where is she now?"

"She won't tell me," said Olivia. "And I'm worried, Peter. Ziegler can't know that she and Ella are in town or else…"

"Hey, I know. Can't you tell Broyles about this? Maybe he can help."

"No one at the Bureau knows that they're here…and I think it's safer that I keep it that way. The only way I can protect them now is to finish this."

"You still quite a ways from that, Liv."

"I know…" she said. "I want this to be done quickly but the only way to do that is to track down this cult. I think I'm gonna do it…"

Peter had a feeling he knew what she meant. "Do what?"

"I'm going to confront Nina Sharp."

~*~*~*~

Not so surprisingly, Olivia was being happily led to Nina's office without going through clearance…almost as if she was expecting this meeting to happen.

"Agent Dunham." Nina Sharp was smiling with a face that Olivia absolutely abhorred. She looked Olivia up and down and then said "You seem to be coming along nicely."

A comfortable seat had been place infront of her desk. "Well," she said. "You should probably sit. Don't you agree? I had that chair place there with all the comfort to suit you now that you're in your…second trimester, is it?"

Olivia sat in the chair. It was rather comfortable, she had to admit. It made her back feel less sore as well.

"Now then," Nina took a seat behind her desk. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Olivia gave her a fierce look and said, "Do you have any ties to the Guinevere Cult that I don't know about?"

"Well my…that is an unusual question to be asking me."

"Just answer it," snapped Olivia. Nina only smirked. "Dear, I assure you I deal with enough twisted madmen in this company…William Bell among them. Why on earth would I waste any time with a cult?"

"You have a lot of money, Nina. How do I know you're not financing them?"

Nina sighed. "Well…if you must know, I did have a couple of representatives from this…Guinevere Cult show up from out of nowhere begging ME for money. I immediately rejected…and I would do it again. They don't represent scientific progress as it should be. Granted Massive Dynamic has done its fair share of testing clones but not in the primitive way that this sect does."

"So you've heard of these guys before?" Olivia wanted nothing more than to leap over her desk and attack Nina with her accusations that everything she was telling her was a lie. But she still lacked the evidence to convict. "Where's Bell?"

"Where do you think, Agent Dunham?"

Olivia sighed. So much for getting Bell to confess to Nina dastardly deeds. He was less susceptible in Olivia's book anyway if he was spending all of his time in the other world.

"I see that I'm having a hard time convincing you that I show nothing but contempt for the Guinevere Cult and their practices. Would it reassure you to know that I have been plotting operations to undermine their work?"

"What kind of operations?" Olivia asked curiously.

"Some of the evidence gathered from the raid years ago indicated that the cult has hidden original DNA copies of this Guinevere woman…the cult leader that they claim to be cloning inside of you as we speak…in an unknown part of the world. We believe it was somewhere in the Arctic, somewhere where the DNA copies would remain naturally frozen and thus well preserved for hundreds of years."

"Hundreds of years?" Olivia crossed her arms. "You do realize that hundreds of years ago, they didn't even have microscopes…let alone develop the concept of cloning."

Nina laughed. "How smart of you to know that, Agent Dunham. It appears from our findings that the location of the DNA copies was lost for at least 100 years and that the current members of the Guinevere Cult have been desperately searching for it."

Olivia realized…Harold Ziegler. This information must have been from him.

"So naturally," said Nina. "I've sent various survey teams all over Greenland, the North Pole, Russia, and Alaska and we have yet to uncover such a cave. It will be an ice cave having been concealed by years of being altered by nature thus making the search for it difficult. But if Massive Dynamic finds those DNA copies before the cult does, we will have the leverage to get these members to come out of the open and surrender themselves…perhaps bring justice for what they've done to you, Agent Dunham."

"And how do you know they won't kill themselves if you find the cave and empty it out first?"

"Oh I'm sure they're not that kind of cult. They enjoy having the world know about their works and they enjoy living to see us marvel at their works…from what I've researched about them anyway. After all, they chose to run away instead of commit suicide when the FBI was convinced they had cornered them."

"Where would they run away to?"

"Who knows?" Nina bluffed. "In the meantime…I have teams being stationed in Antarctica as we speak searching for possible locations of the ice cave. It's become a strong bet that it's located somewhere very desolate and unreachable by normal human beings."

"So if you find those original DNA copies first," asked Olivia. "You think we could lure them out of hiding?"

"Exactly," said Nina. "But I hope you aren't planning on going, Agent Dunham. You're obviously not in a good condition to do so..."

"Of course, I'm not," said Olivia. She was lying though. Now Olivia knew where she had to go if she wanted to speed up the end of this nightmare. Sure she would have to continue carrying the baby to term if she wanted to live but now she could ensure the safety of everyone around her if she could find the next big thing that both the Guinevere Cult and Ziegler have been unable to find.

After she left, Nina wondered if she should've told Olivia the truth about everything…that she knew the Guinevere Cult was hiding out in the other reality…the place where the cult originated from. Otherwise, why would Bell spend all of his time there?

There was no doubt a motive in all of this, however. It was an idea that Bell himself suggested…to use Olivia's Cortexiphan abilities to locate something she desired. It was risky…very risky. In fact Nina wished that she had compelled Olivia to wait until after the baby was born to go, but she knew that was not going to happen…not with Olivia Dunham of all people.

Bell would not be happy…Guinevere would not be happy. But she was only an associate of the cult. Her refusal to financially support them was true even though Bell would constantly send money under Massive Dynamic's name to them. The only thing she could now was to send word to her team in Antarctica to assist Dunham in anyway they could…and to brace for the cult's impending wrath.

~*~*~*~

"I…need to go somewhere," she told the voice on the other end of the phone. "For a month…it's a secret mission and Broyles has given me approval to go. Although he thinks I've completely lost my mind, he knows that there's not a whole lot for me to do here now that I'm this far along."

The voice on the other end of the phone said, "Well Liv, you are completely insane. That I agree with Broyles on. But where exactly are you going?"

Olivia thought for a moment then said "I'll tell you once the preparations have been made for us to go."

"Us?" the other voice was quite intrigued. "You mean I'm going with you?"

"I wish I didn't have to ask but…I know I can't do this alone…not this mission and not while I'm…"

"Say, no more, Liv. I would demand to go with you even if you weren't in the middle of carrying a kid."

Olivia laughed. She knew it would not be pleasant once she told him that they were going to spend the month in Antarctica. But for now, she would enjoy this and continued to keep her eye on the prize of bringing down the Guinevere Cult once and for all. "Thank you, Peter."

* * *

**_Peter and pregnant Livvy in Antarctica...for a whole month?! Yup, I've completely lost my mind with this fic now. Btw, I tried to write Rachel the best way I could, even though she sounds ditzy and bipolar the way I wrote her in this chapter. Heh._**

**_Share your frustrations with a lovely review. Go ahead...dish it out...I can take it!_**


	14. In the land of the dark

**_Alright, I was so excited about writing this storyarc that I had to split this first part up into two chapters. A double whammy you get, but be forewarned...there's a cliffhanger of epic proportions that I had to end this update on. I'm also obligated to keep you hanging for at least one day or else why bother calling it a cliffhanger?_**

**_When planning this arc, I realize there might be some similarities between this and if you guys ever saw The XFiles Movie "Fight the Future". Hit yourself on the head and try to forget that movie right now. Heh heh. _**

* * *

Peter was not happy when he finally heard the word 'Antarctica'.

For the next couple of weeks, as Olivia was preparing for the mission, Peter tried to pull every trick in the book to convince Olivia that she had completely lost her mind. She had to be what now…4 or 5 months pregnant…clearly showing…with a baby that could kill her one way or the other while being sought by cult fanatics, and now she's taking a month-long expedition to the coldest darkest most desolate place in the world?

When he asked her what kind of mission it was, Olivia lied and told her that she was meeting up with some people working at a research station down there who had important information on the cult…the kind she had to go down and see for herself. She never mentioned a word about the 'original DNA copies' hidden in an unknown cave. That would've really set off Peter. Heck, even Broyles didn't know that was the real reason she needed a month for this trip.

It was time for Olivia to go and she was surprised to find that Peter had shown up at the airbase where she was taking off.

"Didn't you say to me that you wouldn't go if I did this?" asked Olivia.

Peter did say that…more like threatened her in everyway possible…if only to get her to see how crazy this trip was. "I say a lot of things that don't seem to ever get through to your head, Liv."

But knowing that Olivia would not back down, Peter knew that he wouldn't have a choice. If Olivia was going to be careless enough to do this, then Peter had to go with her…if only to look out for her.

~*~*~*~

It was a tiresome and long plane trip to the coast of Antarctica, where it was bright and decent. From there, they took a chopper to the heart of the continent, where the environment was vastly different, darker and colder than anything the two of them expected. Even Olivia wasn't prepared for the kind of place she would have to travel through and endure in order to find this one little ice cave.

There was no civilization in the heart of Antarctica. Very few research camps were able to withstand the coldest months of the year here. Only one large steel building based in the middle of nowhere stood out from all of the darkness and snow. It was the South Pole headquarters for Massive Dynamic research.

Keith, the man who was running the research base greeted the two when they arrived. "Ms. Sharp informed me that a crazy pregnant FBI Agent would be coming by," he jokingly said. "Not in those exact words, mind you."

Peter laughed and said to Olivia "finally…someone who knows you like I do."

"Well look, I gotta be honest with ya," Keith explained to them. "You kinda picked a bad time to be working on this mission. We're in the middle of polar nights…we'll be lucky to get about a few hours of sunlight a day in this region but the sunlight we do get is very minimal. Average temperatures outside right now's gotta be 60 or 70 below zero and it's gonna be that way for quite sometime."

With that in mind, Peter wondered if he could still convince Olivia to turn back.

"I had a guide arranged for you, but Carlton fell ill and had to be flown back to the States. There's no one here who can really go out there with ya because we try to keep as few people here at the station during the Winter time as we can to manage things, myself included."

Before Peter could suggest that they wait for the next chopper to take them back to the coast, Olivia spoke up. "Look, I know it's going to be dangerous out there for me…and…my baby, but this is something that can't wait. It's official secret business."

"Yeah, the ice cave thing, right?"

Peter was stunned. "Ice cave, Liv?" Well, now Peter was going to know a few things that Olivia had been no doubt lying to him about.

"My team has only been assigned to the search for this ice cave some months ago, so we haven't covered much ground. Back in the warmer months, we've started our search near the ice shelf regions that would've been more accessible to mankind about 100 years ago...back when people were just beginning to make quests to reach the South Pole. Came up with nothing. This ice cave is gonna be located in the deeper, unmanned regions. Like, I said. It would be better to wait until summer to start searching in that part of the region."

Olivia's confidence remained unshaken. "You have vehicles that can take us out there, though, right?"

"We have Sno-Cats that we only use for minor missions during the Winter."

"Peter knows how to operate them, don't you?" When Olivia turned to him, Peter showed only a look that screamed 'this is crazy!' He wanted to say that so much. But all that came out of his mouth was "yeah…I drove a few back in Alaska…"

"…then we're good," said Olivia. "We'll only be out there for as long as we can handle it."

"If you say so," said Keith.

Peter couldn't take this anymore. He grabbed Olivia by the arms and turned her to face him. "An ice cave, Liv? This was the big secret mission you wanted me to go on with you? How did Nina talk you into this?"

"She didn't, Peter," said Olivia. "I wanted to do this…this is our best chance to get these guys. Because I certainly do not want to wait for them to show up once I have this baby. Chances are they'll kill me before we can even catch them. I'm already screwed as it is, Peter. I don't have anything to lose. You can take the next chopper back if you want. But I have no other way to go, Peter."

Peter gave a huge sigh and said, "I don't think you could even reach the Sno-Cat controls at the pace you're growing."

It made Olivia laugh…a bit uncomfortably.

~*~*~*~

They were required to remain at the base for almost all of the first week in order to gather enough supplies, go through safety training, and be briefed on the areas they would be traveling through.

Peter and Olivia were given winter gear that could cope with the cold temperatures. Olivia's was a bit oversized knowing that she would be become more pregnant in the upcoming days. There was a food supply prepared for three people to last for several weeks. Peter snuck into the kitchen and grabbed some Tabasco sauce for the trip, hoping it would put Olivia somewhat at ease.

Their drive through the Antarctic desert was in complete darkness. The Sno-Cat vehicle had lights but it was so dark for so many hours that they would have to check into nearby stations to switch vehicles and prevent any wear-down.

"So how exactly are we going to find this cave…when I can't see a damn thing?" Peter asked.

"I have this feeling," said Olivia.

"A feeling…Liv that doesn't comfort me, the least bit."

"I think I might be able to sense it," she told him.

Peter teasingly said "those voices in your head are talking to you again, Liv."

Without a doubt were Peter and Olivia unprepared for being out there and having to slowly deal with driving through the tough terrains. Although the wind conditions were clear with no blizzards, the thick snowy surface of the pole was very difficult to drive though (especially around the mountains where the ice cave was most likely to be found) and the vehicle could only handle driving about 5-7 miles per day (mainly in the dark). On one day, they traveled only 3 miles in a 24 hr period.

~*~*~*~

It was a very stressful first week out there as a result. Staying in the Sno-Cat kept them in survivable temperatures. They could only camp for a few hours in the insulated trunk of the vehicle per night in order to avoid freezing to death, and even then, they still slept in their winter gear. The cramped conditions forced the two of them to huddle together...and Peter would often see to it that Olivia had the bigger share of the blankets.

Olivia had been eating up more of the food supply to cope with the stress she was enduring. All of it was dry but edible no-heating needed food that tasted bland. The hot sauce didn't help matters.

For many hours at a time, the two occupants of the vehicle wouldn't speak to each other. And when they did, Olivia would often snap at Peter. It was both the baby and the difficult conditions of the search doing this to her. She was even having a hard time keeping up with her iodide medication she had to take with her on the trip.

To further complicate matters, the baby inside of Olivia was growing at a faster rate than either of them had anticipated…growing faster, Peter worried, than an actual pregnancy should. He wasn't sure. Yet before long, Olivia found herself wrapping a scarf around the exposed skin of her belly that was quickly outgrowing her clothes. That was the big sign that they had to get to another station soon.

And while it took them longer than expected, they eventually reached one. Their Sno-Cat having been worn down to enough. The shell of the vehicle was cracking from the temperatures outside, now close to 80 below zero. They had to remain at the station for a few days to recuperate and get a new vehicle.

The new station was warmer than it was being in the Sno-Cat for days on end, and so Olivia managed to get more hours of sleep in one of the unused dorm rooms (as few people were being stationed during this time of year). She continued to have dreams of people talking, people who knew about her and the baby. They were screaming about Olivia now. Screaming about this whole mission.

"Liv? You okay?"

Olivia finally rolled over to face, Peter. He was sleeping in a bunk bed next to hers. The two of them shared a similar face, both of weariness and worry.

"No, Peter. I'm starting to think you're right. This was a stupid…risky idea."

"So what do you want to do?" Peter asked sincerely.

"I don't want to do this much longer."

"Me neither."

They both agreed on at least one more week. One more week…regardless of how far they got, and then they could leave this icy-desert and go home.

There was no wind to be expected. The week could pass by without a hitch...right?

* * *

**_On to the next part...and seriously folks, I know there are more than just the four people who have been giving me reviews lately that are reading this fic. I have the powers to know this stuff. Be a dear and come out of the shadows for me with more reviews. Trust me when I say that you may get unexpected rewards as a result! ;) You never know where this story is gonna lead._**


	15. Hell in Antarctica Part 1

**_Brace yourself, guys. Some dark, twisty, only-Fringe-would-do-it like stuff goes on in this chap!_**

* * *

The days to pass seemed to be getting more light, just slightly more, but still for only 3-4 hours.

It was on one of those days when the Sno-Cat was driving through a very icy mountainous terrain. Olivia could've sworn she saw some flashing light in the distance.

"Over there," she pointed.

"I don't see anything."

Finally she saw them…those blue flashing lights. She had seen them numerous times in various Pattern related cases in the past. It had to be there even though Peter himself couldn't see it.

"It's there, Peter. I know it's there."

Unwilling to fight with her, Peter drove them as close to the mountains as far as possible. As they got closer, the blue lights continued to appear in Olivia's vision more frequently.

Eventually the Sno-Cat could no longer move but they were now feet away from the cave's entrance. Olivia quickly jumped out of the vehicle before Peter could stop her. She was stumbling her way towards the entrance of the cave. Peter got out and said numerous cuss words to describe the instant impact of freezing temperatures they were now fully exposed to.

He could see as he tried to catch up to Olivia that she was having trouble keeping balance. Her back could no longer support her and she had to keep one arm holding her baby belly without much improvement. She leaned on the entrance of the cave and pulled out a flashlight.

"It's here," she panted. She and Peter took a breather before making their descent inside of the cave.

"How do you know?" asked Peter.

"All the things I've been hearing and seeing…" she said. "I hate them but they're the ones giving me all the answers."

"Sadly."

They both carried flashlights down the long dark icy corridors. It was very narrow and filled with walls of ice sticking out from the sides that turned the cave into a maze. Peter made it a point to grab on to Olivia's coat as she was leading the way near-blinded. She even had to be careful of running into things that might poke her bulging stomach.

In the distance was something only Olivia could see in the dark, the blue flashing lights. She carefully trotted her way towards it.

"What is it?"

Olivia felt the area infront of her. It was flat. "I think it's an ice wall."

"We reached a dead end then," said Peter.

"This can't be right. I know it's here."

Peter took his flashlight to survey the ice wall. "Whoa! Jesus Christ!"

Olivia pointed her flashlight at the sight too. From here on out they could go no further because ice had consumed everything beyond it.

But what caused both Peter and Olivia to nearly jump out of their skins was what they saw beyond the clear wall of ice…there were bodies. Mummified corpses of humans who were standing. But these were no Neanderthals. Their clothes looked modern…at least several decades old.

"Peter," Olivia said shaking (but not from the cold). "You see the way their bodies were cut off?"

Peter took his light and tried to look as far into the icy block as he could. "It looked like some of them were sliced in half."

"…like those bodies we found. Like what happened to Dr. Jones."

"Liv, this can't mean what I think it means."

She knew though. "Beyond that ice is what used to be a portal to the other reality. That's how they were able to keep a cave this far in. The Guinevere Cult…they're from the other world. That's where they're hiding right now. These other bodies…they must've been trapped from all the ice that build up and couldn't get back."

At that moment, a beeping was heard in Peter's pocket. He pulled out the GPS device.

"Someone's in range," said Peter. "I'm gonna go check it out. You stay here…when I get back, we're getting the hell out of this creep show for good."

Before she could argue with him, Peter went made his way back through the dark maze. Olivia could only sit there…next to the sliced off corpses concealed in ice…and wait.

Her eyes suddenly caught a glimpse of the flashing blue light. It wasn't beyond the wall…it was coming from below her. Olivia brushed the snow off from the surrounding ground until she found the last thing she expected to find in an all-natural ice cave like this.

A wooden door, a trap door. She used all the strength she had in her to pull it open, nearly tearing the gloves she wore. There was a ladder leading down. Her curious instincts told her to get her feet on the top steps and prepare for descent. This was going to be slow, painful, and risky. Her belly would make it difficult to climb down, but she would have no choice if she wanted to find what was down there and avoid serious risk of falling all at once.

She slowly descended into the darkness. Every step took minutes to take in order to avoid a single slip and she held on to the ladder as tightly as she could. Her life would depend on it.

Meanwhile, Peter headed outside of the cave and looked around. There was still some daylight left and it was far easier to see than inside of the cave. The beeping on the GPS device was getting louder and more frequent. Peter grabbed his binoculars.

Out in the distance there was a very large vehicle…a snow convoy heading directly towards the cave.

"Shit!" Quickly, he ran to the Sno-Cat and tried to destroy as much of their foot tracks as he could all the way to the cave, but found it useless. They would know someone was here either way.

Olivia reached the bottom sooner than expected without a single slip and took one minute to breathe again in relief. Her eyes readjusted to find that the blue light was flashing from one specific area. Her flashlight revealed a very old steel lever.

She was surprised to find herself being able to pull it up. Wherever she was, Olivia started to feel slightly warmer…still cold but warmer. Therefore the lever wasn't froze shut.

She pulled it up and suddenly light began to appear all around…a glowing blue light.

Olivia was in a small circular room. The light was glowing behind the walls of ice. And there were shelves with glass objects that were shining. She took her flashlight to one of the shelves and gave a terrified gasp.

Unable to breathe or even move…her flashlight revealed jars. Glass jars of human fetuses. They filled every shelf of the room and Olivia had no spot to back away from the sight. She was surrounded by them. The fetuses were jarred in various sizes and were preserved in various stages of development. Several shelves were filled with fetuses that were quite deformed.

It really was a creep show inside this ice cave.

Olivia took many deep breaths as she walked slowly towards one of the shelves. A jar storing a ghastly-deformed fetus caught her eye and as much as she didn't want to stare at the horrific sight, there was a piece of paper slowly peeling of the jar that caught her attention.

It said _'Guinevere #214, 1860 ad, failed, grotesque deformalities'_. The labels on the other jars had similar information on them. They were all failed attempts to clone Guinevere. But unlike the ones found in the raid, these clones were much older, centuries older. One label even had the year 1341 ad.

Animal cloning shouldn't have even been possible a century ago. The only theory she could come up with was that in the other reality, they made it possible…for endless centuries.

Her flashlight caught a glimpse of a wooden cabinet amongst the shelves of fetus jars. Olivia carefully pulled it open and found the shelves carried similar items. Smaller bottles storing smaller early stages of fetuses and embryos. The bottles varied from different periods of age and time. The embryos and fetuses were stored in various kinds of gels and liquids to see which ones could stay preserved longer.

On the middle shelf was a device...an old fashioned cranking device. A small jar with a fetus was placed in the center and a wire connected. Olivia's finger fiddled with the small crank for a brief second. Then she closed her eyes and began to turn it. Seeing that it was an old mechanical device, she would have to crank it was much as she could to get any slight result.

She stepped back as she heard the faint sound of whirling. Nothing seemed to be happening to the device and as she continued to watch, Olivia started to get a pounding migraine. She swore that she could hear her own heart thumping loudly.

Seconds later…it happened. A sharp, violent, movement in her womb. The jar that was wired to the device was glowing. With each glow came more pain.

Olivia fell backwards to the ground. The movement of the baby became more rapid and more painful with every second. This was far beyond something that a Braxton-Hicks contraction could conjure…

…It was far more painful than that…more as if the baby was slowly twisting a sharp knife inside of her.

She pushed herself up a few inches from the floor…eventually giving in to her first echoing screams of pain.

The glow from the device got brighter and more intense. One would think that for a moment, the fetus inside of that wired jar was itself alive and moving.

Pain consumed all of her senses, her own screams drowning her hearing, to a point that she failed to see the figure who leapt from the ladder calling her name.

A horrified Peter had immediately appeared, without so much as a clue as to how to stop Olivia's pain.

"TURN IT OFF!" She cried hysterically. Her head turned towards the lever. She and Peter hoped for the same solution to the problem as Peter rushed over and pushed it down.

The cold circular room was in darkness, once again. Peter turned on the flashlight and caught glimpses of the shelves and its contents. His mind screaming _'what the hell is this place?!'_

Olivia was whimpering. Although the sharp movements in her body had stopped, her mind was still absorbed by the pain she endured. She couldn't even feel Peter holding her up.

"You okay?"

She couldn't respond. She could only continue to breathe in quick and rapid succession. Her face was sticky as the tears of pain were quickly freezing on her skin.

Before Peter could pull her closer to him…the noise of his GPS device filled his ears.

"They're coming…" he said. "They're coming this way."

He carefully lowered her back to the ground and said to her in a calm, soothing, voice "stay here. I'll come back."

The moment he got up Olivia pushed herself up and clung to one of his pant sleeves. "No, wait!" The plea was both one of concern for Peter's safety and (even deeper) a part of Olivia that did not want him to leave her…not now.

"But it could be Ziegler. They'll see the Sno-Cat outside. They'll know someone's here."

Olivia took one hand and searched desperately in her coat pocket.

"Take it…" she said weakly reaching her gun out to Peter. He took the weapon from her hands and put it in his coat. Then, he took Olivia's cold tear-stricken cheeks into his shaking hands. Puffs of his breath were striking Olivia's face as he spoke "Liv, I promise...I'm coming back."

He left her with his flashlight and ran back up the ladder. He shut the trap door when he got out, and smooth as much snow over as he could to cover it…cursing himself every second which he did. He didn't want to leave Olivia down there...in that dark twisted cellar where she just experienced unspeakable pain. But Peter had to keep his focus on what was more crucial right now…protecting her, and hiding her from the approaching strangers as much as he could.

This would be it, Peter decreed. He would deal with these guys as quickly as he could…then get himself and Olivia off this f**king nightmare of a continent.

Olivia remained in the dark. She didn't want to look at her surroundings for a second longer. So she closed her eyes and could only pray that Peter would come back soon.

A light blinded Peter as he was making his way towards the cave entrance.

"Small world."

Peter could see Harold Ziegler blinding the light at him mercilessly. With him were at least 5 other men in cozy winter coats…with guns. Damn, Peter thought. Outnumbered.

"To think you would lead my team right to the location of the ancient DNA copies of Guinevere Aditi. I know Agent Dunham knows about them. Perhaps if she came out of wherever it is she is hiding…" Ziegler was calling out throughout the cave. "…then we can turn around and go without leaving any damage."

Peter had pull off his best lying abilities. "I don't know what to tell you. She would be insane to even think of coming here with a baby on the way. That's why she sent me. I'm nothing but a baby-sitter to my father back home. I'm the only one on the team with time to waste on these kinds of f**ked up missions."

Ziegler sighed. "I have a reliable source, my friend…not to mention there are ways to know where Agent Dunham is and what she is doing at a certain time without the use of a spy…though I won't go anymore into that. Point being, you're lying to me."

Two of the gunmen grabbed Peter. One of them took a tight hold on his neck.

"Is she near here? Answer me!"

One of the men holding Peter said "he's not gonna talk."

Ziegler pulled out a gun…aimed it at Peter...and pulled the trigger.

"SEARCH!"

Footsteps began to scatter all throughout the cave…but down where Olivia was hiding, the only sound that was imprinted in her mind was the haunting echo of that one distance gunshot from above.

They spent a whole half hour finding nothing, not even the trap door. No blue lights flashed for the men to give away the secrets of the cave.

"I don't get it. We must've searched every square inch of this place twice."

"She could be searching in a nearby cave," said Ziegler. It was the only theory he had to go on. "Move out!"

They walked passed a bleeding and motionless Peter. Ziegler's foot nudged him a bit and saw the gun hanging out of his coat pocket.

He reached down and grabbed the gun, whispering to the fallen man "I do believe that's your Sno-Cat out there, is it not?"

No response. And with that…Ziegler and his team left the cave behind them.

With the sounds of footsteps fading, Olivia scooted her way towards the ladder. She put the flashlight in her mouth and climbed her way carefully back up, trying to fight back all the numbness she was feeling from her curious experiment gone to hell.

Ziegler and his team got back into their convoy parked outside the cave. As they drove away, they fired a bazooka at the parked Sno-Cat. The explosion and destuction of the vehicle was close enough for the entrance of the cave to collapse in a heaping mass.

Olivia was halfway up the ladder when she heard the boom and held on to the ladder very tight while the world around her shook. She could hear many of the glass jars falling off the shelves and crashing to the ground below her.

The shaking would eventually stop and Olivia made her way up to the top, forcing open the trap door. She was back on the ground level of the cave. Complete darkness except for her flashlight.

"Peter?!" she called out.

Winding her way through the cave, she nearly tripped and looked down. A moment of disbelief consumed her. Peter was lying there…blood staining the cold ground by his side.

"PETER!!!"

She kneeled down and held him…unsure as to whether or not he was alive. But it didn't matter. Ahead of her was a massive pile of ice, rocks, and snow covering the only way out…

…and now sealing the two of them in a dark, icy, impending grave.


	16. Hell in Antarctica Part 2

She couldn't believe how pale his skin turned the moment she opened his shirt and exposed his wounded flesh to the cold, dry, air. The sensitive feeling should've wakened Peter…

…but he remained there, still not moving…still not breathing.

As a former marine, she had superb training in treating gunshot wounds, but never in temperatures like this.

Thank god the thickness of his coat make the wound he received less severe. But he had still been left to bleed for quite some time. Olivia took the scarf that she had wrapped around her waist and tightly wrapped it around Peter's wound, now able to control the bleeding.

After bundling him back up, there was still no improvement. She leaned her ear to his chest and heard no signs of life.

"Dammit, Peter!"

Knowing how vital it was for a wounded man to be able to breath, Olivia began to perform CPR on him…hoping to breath warmth into Peter again in the process.

"Ah!" Peter coughed and tried to get up.

"Calm down," Olivia said. She put a hand to his chest and kept him steady on his back. "Calm down." Her voice was calm but shaking from fear and relief.

"Liv?" Peter moaned. "I can't even see you."

Olivia lifted the flashlight so he could see her. "We're caved in, Peter."

"Wonderful."

Olivia smiled for the first time in days. Nothing seemed more assuring to her right now than a voice of familiarity like Peter's.

"What the hell happened…" Peter coughed. "Down there?"

"I don't know."

"Are you okay?"

"I still feel a bit sore…still feeling some aftershock. God, that was the worst pain I ever felt in my life."

"So I take it...this wasn't how you imagined having kids?"

Olivia gave a nervous laugh. "Rachel was actually thrilled. She said I would get over the pain every quickly and that being pregnant was going to be the most exciting…most wonderful time of my life." She scoffed. "Look where it's lead me now."

She sat up against the wall despite the fact that part of her skin was now being exposed, freezing now, due to her growth. The winter gear she wore was incredibly tight on her. By tomorrow, her clothes would start to tear and fall apart on her…not like there was gonna be a tomorrow for either of them anyway. Olivia opted instead, to give Peter some peace. Let the two of them continue to converse as if they weren't freezing and slowly dying in a dark cave at the bottom of the world for as long as they could.

"I thought that after a few years in the Bureau, I would be able to start a family. A lot of people develop that need because it brings them normalcy...stability. But once John died and all of this crap with the Pattern began…I had accept that it was time to give up. It's hard for me to get use to the idea that there was never anything normal about me...and never will be."

"Ah, it's not so bad," said Peter. "I mean look at me. My father is the most twisted bastard to ever walk the earth…and yet, I would hate the idea of coming from a perfect family. Maybe I just fell out of love with being normal. Admit it, Liv…you think being a bit messed up makes you special."

"My idea of special isn't like everyone else's…definitely not like everyone who's involved in the Pattern."

"Touche."

They sat in silence for a long period of time. Never had they expected hell to be this cold…or this quiet.

Peter rolled over on his side. With the flashlight in-between them, he could see that Olivia was wrapping her arms around her knees. Doing everything she could to keep her pregnant belly warm.

"Damn, Liv. Did you use the scarf to wrap my wound?"

She nodded. "I'm okay. You shouldn't be leaning like that."

"It hurts like hell but what else am I gonna do? I can't sleep and I can barely breathe." Peter pushed himself up so that he was sitting up. His gunshot wound might've been healing but his breathing was still pretty bad. With the entire cave entrance shut off, Peter and Olivia were more likely to suffocate just as soon as they would freeze to death. In other words, it no longer mattered what he did to his body.

He leaned a little onto Olivia and she didn't mind supporting him in his state. He then reached into his coat pocket and took out the only thing he had left from civilization…a protein bar. The bar was unwrapped and being shoved infront of Olivia's face.

"Here…eat it."

Olivia tried to protest, but Peter kept trying to force the bar into her mouth. Eventually, she gave in and ate the whole thing as he held it out for her.

After that was more silence…time had no meaning here.

Their jackets had hoods but it did nothing to help keep their faces warm. In fact, Olivia found herself sweating, her head felt too hot, nausea setting in once more, and it was only then did she realize…

"Peter?"

"Yeah."

"I forgot to take the iodide today…it was in the Sno-Cat."

It was at that moment when Peter pulled Olivia closer to him. He then wrapped his arms around her neck. His rough cheek began to graze her own. Although the touch was very icy, it was still comforting for the both of them.

Screw the hoods. They were going to die in another hour or two anyway.

At that moment…the batteries in the flashlight died. They were now enveloped in blackness but they could still feel each other's presence…

It was enough for them.

~*~*~*~

They heard a fast-paced beeping…like a digital alarm clock. Peter's GPS was going off like crazy. Peter swore that he could hear a faint sound like rumbling thunder.

"Liv?" He felt Olivia squirm in the dark and said, "I think someone's outside."

The two of them listened in, focusing on the noises for as long as they could and nothing else. Indeed there was rumbling coming from outside of the cave. It was getting louder as the minutes passed. "Are they…," Olivia whispered. "Are they digging us out?"

"We don't even know who they are. No one knows we're here. There's no one at Massive Dynamic's base to come after us."

The two of them just sat there…waiting as the noises got louder. And then, light began to seep in from the blocked entry to the cave.

Seconds more passed and the pile of snow, rocks, and ice began to fall back exposing the outside arctic to Peter and Olivia for the first time in hours. It was very windy now. They felt the effects immediately as the wind stung at their exposed skin.

Shadows began to slowly passed through the opening and entered the cave…lead by one carrying a flashlight.

Peter and Olivia looked up adjusting their eyes. A large intimidating figure loomed over them…covered head to toe in winter gear. The stranger bore no face for them to see. It was completely covered by a protective winter mask, so dark and faceless that one could not even see the eyes.

The stranger instantly grabbed Olivia by her arm and began to pull her up.

"No!" Peter tried to hold her back…worried then…that these guys weren't exactly here to rescue them. But two more large figures (in similar attire) appeared and forced Olivia out of his grip. She was too weak and too frightened to fight the hold.

Peter got up a bit too quickly, nearly forgetting the pain of his gunshot wound. In that spilt second of distraction, a strong hand grabbed hold of Peter while the other knocked him out.

~*~*~*~

Searing pain woke Peter quickly, but it took him even longer to adjust to the light. He felt really cold. At that moment, he realized that he was lying on his back, wearing no shirt. The scarf that held in his gunshot wound had now been replaced by some well-done bandaging.

The small building he was trapped in looked like a Jamesway hut, the ones he got used to when living in Alaska. A curtain wall stood feet away from the bed he was lying in.

Before he could wonder what the hell happened to Olivia, his coat and sweaters were thrown into his lap. Someone had been standing over him the entire time. Not until now did Peter acknowledge the familiar face, in his sweater and lab coat. "You," Peter growled.

Mark smirked. "I see you remember me." He opened the long curtain wall by him. On the other side, lying in a hospital bed, was Olivia. She seemed to be in good shape…a bit disoriented but still breathing.

There were three other men in the hut with them. Mark whispered to one and the man went straight to Peter and pulled him behind the arm. He dragged Peter to a pole and tied his hands around it.

"We have to tie you up," said Mark. "Sorry, man. But we don't trust your ability to cooperate while we finish examining Dunham."

Olivia was starting to regain consciousness and awareness. Her large stomach made it impossible to see much of her surroundings or even sit up. She couldn't even see Peter. However, when she turned her head to one side, she could see two of Mark's cronies. They were sorting an array of jars into boxes…the jars of fetuses that have now been retrieved from the cave.

Among them she saw the cranking device…the very device that caused her so much pain…and she began to freak out. She began to kick her legs and thrash her arms out despite how very little she could actually move.

She heard a familiar, comforting voice call out her name and immediately she called back. "Peter!"

"Keep her down," said Mark. Olivia tried to move even more until a strong grip seized her by both arms. Mark down at Olivia who was scared-shit. "The quicker you cooperate with us…the sooner you and your friend get to go home. Got it?!"

She tried to control her breathing, unsure of Mark's words being true. Otherwise, this would be the second time that her rescue would lead to her being restrained in a hospital bed.

"Good then." Mark glanced at Peter…who couldn't control the grinding in his teeth. It sickened Peter to his stomach how much of Olivia's life had been spent being treated and observed like a lab rabbit by these so-called super-scientists (sad to say his father being one of them).

Mark pulled Olivia's sweater all the way up until her entire baby belly was exposed. Her stomach seemed to have gotten larger overnight in that cave. He then applied cream to a small fading magenta spot on the side of her stomach. Olivia bit her tongue as the cream stung her skin, afraid to struggle any further.

"You had to get yourself a goddamn frostbite," Mark growled. "Jesus f**king Christ!"

He then pulled out a fetal stethoscope and placed it on her skin. Olivia gasped in response to the cold touch. It didn't help matters that in the process, Mark was lightly pressing two fingers against her womb.

Her worst fear right now was for that baby to be kicking inside of her again. Because after what happened in that cave, she no longer believed that feeling a baby inside of you would be a wonderful pleasant experience.

Peter was starting to feel disgusted at the sight…but seeing that three of the men were focusing on Olivia and the other one still doing fetus inventory, Peter found that no one was paying any attention to him. So his fingers began to work on the straps that tied him to the pole.

Mark grabbed his mini tape recorder and began to record. "Okay," he sighed. "So we gave Dunham her weekly injection of iodide. But everything else is pretty much bad news. First of all she's got a minor frostbite near the abdomen…about the size of a mini sunburn…heart rate of the baby has slowed down, no doubt from exposure to the cold and lack of nutrition in the past 24 hrs. And it seems there's been some serious signs of recent fetal distress…thanks to this woman's stupidity. But seeing that she's still alive, we can only assume that there's been no damage to the plasma sac. At 23 weeks in and given the unusual position the fetus has shifted to, I feel we have every reason to be concerned. Chances are high for a premature delivery…as early as a few more weeks possibly. Hopefully Dunham will do what she can to slow down the process. I can't make any guarantees. We'll now do an examination for internal injuries."

He turned off the tape recorder and tossed it. "We'll need to pull down your pants."

"What?!" Olivia was stunned. Her heart rate began to speed up.

"Yeesh, lady. We're not trying to rape you. We just need to perform a hysteroscopy to see if anything's happened to the fetus. We can't do ultrasounds and we can't do laparoscopy. This is the only way we can check without rupturing anything."

Olivia watched as he pulled out from his coat pocket...a speculum. Her thrashing immediately intensified. The two men had to hold her down with more strength as Mark held down her feet.

But before he could strip her down to complete the exam, Mark was pulled away and was thrown, crashing against the man doing inventory. The jars on the table tipped over, just a few inches from falling to the ground.

Peter had freed himself and was now grabbing Mark again by his shirt. "She doesn't want you touching her, Asshole!"

He turned back when he heard Olivia cry out "no!" One of the men restraining her pulled out a gun. Mark soon pulled out his own.

After an intense few seconds of silence, Mark bent down huffing. "To hell with both of you, then." He waved his hand and the two men let go of Olivia.

"Shit, Mark." The man doing inventory quickly gathered the jars to protect them. "You almost broke them! Guinevere's not gonna be happy. We're really screwed!"

"Yeah, well…nothing much we can do about it. We'll just have to pray that she gets us through this. You can send these two f**kers out now."

Peter was taken out first by one guard, while the others were helping Olivia off the bed.

Outside of the small station they were in, sat a snowmobile. The guard informed Peter "You're 3 miles away from Massive Dynamic's central base. GPS will make sure you go straight there."

The other guards came out, followed by Mark who was holding Olivia's arm behind her back. He suddenly twisted it with one hand and pulled her hair back with the other.

Peter was being held down by all three cronies now as he heard Olivia yelp, completely helpless. Mark was giving her a look of anger and enragement.

"Listen here, you little bitch! You think that you can keep f**king around with this FBI shit that you do?!! Pulling a gun to your head?!! Running around the middle of an ice desert?!! I expected you to be a little more fragile with yourself than this. This isn't some mindless human experiment. THIS IS A F**KING GOD YOU'RE CARRYING!!! The slightest thing you do can mess everything up. If this child doesn't make it…if there is even one single imperfection or deformity when she comes out, then Guinevere will NOT be happy. She may have a soft spot for you, but she has hundreds of followers who don't…followers who won't even think twice about coming after you if anything goes wrong. You run back home now…and DON'T YOU DARE PULL THIS KIND OF SHIT AGAIN!! YOU HEAR?!!"

Silenced by pain and fear, Olivia tried to move her head with acknowledgment.

Peter was released and was half a second away from charging towards Mark, dead set on killing him mercilessly…but at the same moment, Mark let go of Olivia pushing her towards Peter.

He had to give up on his urges for today...and instead, took Olivia into his arms.

Mark looked at Peter with a very cold expression. "Guinevere is watching her. So we'll know if she does anything we don't like." He then followed his men as they all walked back silently into the hut.

When they were gone, Olivia had a hard time letting go until Peter guided her to the snowmobile. Her hold on him became tighter as he started the engine.

The cold wind was now peeling at their skin, but they had to hang on…just until they got back to Massive Dynamic's base.

* * *

_**I don't mean to torture you any further folks, but I'm now at a writer's block with this story at this point...so future updates might be slow for a while. **_

_**So for the past couple of days, my inbox has been filled with never-before-heard-of pennames favoriting this story: hinty! hinty! ;)**_


	17. The aftermath

**_Well, I lied. Looks like my writer's block will commence AFTER this chapter. I need a day or two off from this anyway. It's consuming my mind._**

**_There's a really dark and gritty dream sequence in italics. Feel free to skip that part if need be._**

* * *

The snowmobile sped right into the garage stopping feet infront of Keith. "Thank god," he said. "We lost track of you guys on our computers…I almost had to call New York and that would NOT have been pleasant."

Peter and Olivia had a difficult time getting off the snowmobile and readjusting to the warmth of indoors. The weather outside was worsening and now their skin was pale with snow filling every crevice of their hair and their worn-out coats.

"Jesus Christ…What the hell happened out there? You two look like you've were buried in an avalanche!"

"More like a cave-in," muttered Peter. He was shaking as he tried to help Olivia stand on her feet. She was breathing very hard and was incredibly exhausted.

Keith couldn't believe that these two came back in a different vehicle after having been missing for over a day. He also noticed that their coats and winter gear were all tattered. They weren't even wearing hoods upon arrival. "Well, are you two okay? You need any medical attention?"

Those words made Olivia turn very tense. Luckily, Peter sensed this immediately and understood why it would make her feel so uncomfortable. "No," he said to Keith. "We're fine…" He held Olivia's hand at that moment…hoping to assure all of them. "We're both fine. We just need some food. We haven't eaten in over a day."

"Oh, definitely. You can help yourselves to the kitchen."

They followed Keith into the main building, weak and very silent. Peter was about ready to pass out but neither himself nor Olivia could hold in their hunger for much longer. They would deal with that first. He was still guiding Olivia down the hall as he leaned over to Keith and asked "How soon can you get us off this continent?"

"Weather depending…we could get a chopper here early but I'll have to make sure a plane's ready on the coast to take you guys back. I say about 6-8 hrs. You two might as well take it easy until then."

Keith left them to the kitchen to call transport for them, being very understanding of the stressful experience they just went through. The pair did not hesitate to go after anything they could find in food storage like wild scavengers.

Often after enduring life-threatening experiences like this, Peter would ask Olivia if she was okay. How low would his I.Q. have to be for him to not realize that she clearly wasn't? Heck, even he was still shuddering…from everything he saw in the ice cave…to getting shot and being left to die by Ziegler…to being rescued in a most unpleasant way. It allowed him to relate to her view of the experience at least, though compared to what Peter endured, Olivia was dealing with a larger more vicious dinosaur from the past 24 hrs.

That plane wasn't going to be ready soon enough for either of them.

After they got their fill of food, Peter and Olivia were permitted to sleep in the warmest dorm room in the base, one normally use to treat people recovering from hypothermia. They had to swing by the clothing deposit room to find new clothes. They were both reeking from the sweats they've been in for days. Not to mention Olivia's clothes were now falling apart on her. Luckily she was able to find the largest pair of sweat wear that would at least feel a little snug on her.

Peter couldn't blame her for not wanting to talk. He was losing his own ability to find a voice or motivation to do anything. Though he was rather surprise when he asked her if she wanted to use the shower room first, that he could hear a faint "yeah" coming from her lips. Granted she wasn't completely out of it…but she still had every right to be traumatized.

Once Peter had his turn in the shower room, he came back and found Olivia already dressed and fast asleep in one of the beds. A small light in the room was left on and while the research base would be on his ass for wasting electricity during this part of the year, Peter decided to leave that light on as he got into the bed next to hers.

It took him awhile to fall asleep. He was too busy watching her for any distraction, any sudden movement from Olivia that would cause her to completely fall apart. Perhaps he was worrying too much. She just needed to sleep to get over everything that happened and so did he. He let his eyes finally surrendered to the warm comforting rest that was long overdue.

~*~*~*~

_She wasn't expecting a dream like this._

_And yet given her dreams for months had been about nothing but the Guinevere Cult, she wasn't surprised as she was once again absorbed in their world._

_This time…she was herself, in her current pregnant form. But now, she was feeling the immense pain similar to that by the cranking device. There was no violent kicking or thrashing but there was a lot of pressure in her uterus._

_That's when she realized…crap…she was in labor._

_And knowing that she was far too early, she willed her body in every way to stop this from happening. The fetus refused to comply and continued its course._

_She was lying down in a hospital bed, but for the life of her, she could not determine her exact location. Too dark to be a hospital and the walls seemed to be more stone than steel._

_Figures began to look down on her as her labor pains continued. Even in her dreams she was able to recall the familiar garments these strangers wore. She had seen pictures of them from the reports she read on the cult. They were wearing long cream-colored kurtas with hoods covering their heads._

_She could not see their faces, but she could sense their anger and disappointment with her. The baby was coming to soon…and she would not be able to stop it. If that should be the case then all she could do now was get it over with…hurry with it so that these people could kill her already._

_Before that could happen, one of the figures held a scalpel in hand. She began to panic. What if they cut the plasma sac? Would it mean death would come for her sooner?_

_The pain in her uterus was not stopping and her mind continued to scream while she herself remained voiceless. She couldn't even feel the scalpel's blade as the skin below her belly was slowly being incised. Soon afterward, the pain was gone and she could see now that the one who had cut her open now bore something large in their hands._

_But it wasn't a baby._

_However it was about the size of one…a large blue blob. Its surface was thick and shiny like a very soft fruit. It even had a little stem sticking out, until she realized it wasn't a stem…it was the removed umbilical cord._

_She began to hyperventilate...every inch of her was shaking. She didn't give birth to that. She just couldn't have._

_The large blob seemed to have become transparent and revealed its true core. There was a shadow of a baby now. The remainder of the umbilical cord still attached to the child inside. She focused on the child only to find how…disproportionate it looked. It was missing half of one leg…no foot, one arm was very short and tiny while the other was grossly stretched out…far too long, a large bump (a giant cyst) had taken shape on one side of the child's forehead._

_The baby had resembled more of a junkyard doll, no part of its body looking normal._

_To her, that wasn't nearly as terrifying as sensing the anger building up within the one holding the ghastly thing in its hands. The child had come out deformed. They weren't happy…not happy at all…_

~*~*~*~

He awoke to a sound that was soft and high-pitched…as if hearing a ghost's cry. But it was really Olivia's and he leapt out of his bed to her own before his mind could register her awakening from a nightmare.

"Liv?" Peter grasped her wrists. Soon she went silent giving him a long weary stare of uncertainty. Looking around, she realized that she was still in the cursed Antarctic. She shook her head and her arms in disbelief. Peter let go of her then and allowed her space to think…space to breathe. Her face was glistening with sweat and tears…every inch of her skin gathered goosebumps.

"I'm not doing this…" She got up from her bed and walked over to the other side of the room leaning her head against the wall. Her voice was quivering but very demanding. "I'm not doing this…"

Peter stood up and faced her. "Liv, you have to or you'll…"

"NO!!!" She turned her rage towards everything (but Peter) in the room, destroying everything in her wake. "I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE FATE OF THE WORLD!!! I DON'T CARE!!!" Her screams were incredibly high-pitched. Peter had no idea her voice could reach such high notes. "I'D RATHER DIE NOW THAN HAVE THIS BABY!!! I DON'T WANNA BE A GODDAMN EXPERIMENT ANYMORE!!!"

The lights in the room began to flicker on and off angrily. Once Olivia realized she was the one causing this…knowing that she would be a goddamn experiment forever, she submitted to dropping to the floor, wailing.

For the first time in his life, the great fearless Peter Bishop was actually afraid of approaching Olivia Dunham. Never in his wildest dreams had he expected to see Olivia break down to the point of nearly causing her own spontaneous combustion from it. She had no doubt held in too much for far too long. Now she was a burnt shell of a being curling herself up in a ball…cursing her stomach for being too big to wrap her whole body in.

"Liv?"

Seconds passed at the speed of minutes…even hours as Peter took his steps cautiously. His knees were getting sore from how slow and careful he was being until he at last joined Olivia on the floor.

She loosened herself as she saw Peter was getting closer and then…Peter knew that he would be okay to approach her. Not only was her body language giving him permission to…it was practically crying out for him.

He pulled all of Olivia into his embrace within seconds, practically pulling her whole body into his lap. She was still weeping, drowning her entire face in tears yet she was now silent…more calm. Peter tilted her head till she was leaning onto his chest.

"Everyone wants me to die," she whispered. But Peter heard it. They were both shaking. Peter was smoothing her hair, keeping her face hidden from her surroundings. "Not everyone," he said.

Her added weight would make it difficult to cradle her but Peter would do it anyway. The last thing he wanted right now was for her to see that his eyes were starting to water up with tears of helplessness and regret. Not like a man to cry…especially if he was Peter Bishop. He knew he had to hold them back though. It wouldn't help either of them now if there was not one strong person left in that room to even out the balance.

~*~*~*~

Ziegler was not surprised that he was getting a visit from him…the mole in the Guinevere Cult. Even masterminds would have to answer to someone when a major plan goes wrong.

He sighed when he saw the Mole enter. "I suppose you're here about what happen in Antarctica. Shall we make this a clean execution?"

The Mole answered "you have me all wrong, Ziegler. You are not a servant…at least not anymore. We are friends, equals. Therefore I take it what happened in Antarctica was a misunderstanding?"

"There was no way for myself or my men to have known that Agent Dunham was hiding under our very noses."

"I know and I forgive you for that." Ziegler was rather surprised by this until the Mole looked at him disappointingly and said "You almost killed an innocent man though."

Ziegler scoffed at the Mole's use of the word "innocent" and sarcastically said "Guess I couldn't hold in my disgust for that Bishop boy."

The Mole laughed and said "I believe that. In the meantime, I fear we'll have to move our plans into motion faster than anticipated. It's expected that Agent Dunham will be due earlier than planned. A few weeks most likely."

"Well," said Ziegler. "Guinevere and her friends certainly won't be happy with that."

The Mole smiled and said "and that's exactly how we like it, right 'Master'?"

~*~*~*~

They were both maintaining self-control again by the time they arrived at the coast and got inside the military plane.

Peter and Olivia were sitting next to each other cuddled in blankets, sighing in uncertain relief as the plane took off. They weren't just going home. They were finally waking from a month-long nightmare.

Peter was unsure whether or not to ask but took the risk anyway. "Did you want to talk about it? The dream you had?"

There was an uncertain moment of silence and then Olivia shook her head...giving him her most assuring smile in her current diminished state. "No…I think I'll be okay. It's not something that I fear I'll be dreaming about again."

"I truly hope so." As horrifying no doubt as the dream probably was, Peter wouldn't push the subject on her much further. If keeping silent about what she dreamt would help her move pass it, than he would help her by respecting that.

Olivia looked away from Peter with deep regret. "I shouldn't have asked you to come."

"Don't say that."

"You were shot. You almost got killed."

"Hey. If anything I was more worried about what would've happened to you if I hadn't come more than I was worried about freezing to death. I don't regret it. Neither should you, alright?"

She leaned back in her seat. "Okay." Peter pulled her close so that she could rest on his shoulder. "I guess it doesn't matter then," Olivia said. "…whether or not I've already screwed up with this baby. They still plan to come after me either way."

Peter sighed. "Don't let THEM get to you, Liv. Don't let them treat you like a tool. They're heartless, sick, bastards. I know you and you would NEVER go down without a fight. You've taken many down on your own before. After what they've done to you…"

"They want to kill me, Peter. They'll fight really hard to make it happen."

Peter hugged her tighter, quietly inhaling her hair. He had to fight to urge to kiss even one part of her. "Well, if it has to come down to that…then I'll fight even harder for you."

* * *

**_Aren't you happy with all the Bolivia you're getting? Well, you should cause I plan for some more in the near future. In fact, expect this story to take unexpected twist and turns that I only just thought of a few days ago. What kind of twists? Oh...let's say the kind you would naturally find on shows like "Lost" and "Fringe". The kind were certain characters have unexpected roles and others are not exactly what you think them to be. Ha! Send me reviews to show your excitement!_**


	18. Well being

_**Ranty filler chapter once again. But I assure you that plot twists are about to unfold and you'll be like OMGWTF and you'll worship the ground I walk on.**_

* * *

Peter didn't want to leave Olivia once their plane touched the ground, but Olivia was insistent that she would be okay after she had a day to rest. She won out by convincing Peter to go see his father and relieving him from being under Astrid's care for the entire time they were gone.

After swinging by the Bureau to give Broyles a sugarcoated version of the month's events in Antarctica, Olivia finally got to go home and rest. During her time gone a package had appeared for her. Inside was a hard-back cover book, the title screaming at her with those cursed bold and colorful letters: Baby Development Book.

She read the note that came with the book. _'This book helped me while having Ella. Don't bother with the return address. It's a fake. Much Love, Rachel.'_

_'Perfect,'_ Olivia thought. Unable to stop concerning herself with her sister's whereabouts, perhaps she needed to take some time with being back in Boston before she can get back to work on finding her sister's current hiding place…as well as everything else. The weather was perfect and warm in Boston…something Olivia missed very dearly.

So she dressed in summer clothes, took the baby book, and sat Indian style under a tree by one of Harvard's luscious ponds. As she skimmed the pages, she found that a lot of the information on baby development would not be of great use to her. After all, she couldn't be near any of the proper equipment needed to check on the baby's progress at any stage. The rest of the book was on baby care, which she had completely ignored all together.

"That's a great book."

Olivia looked up and saw a young mother passing by her on the pathway. She was pushing a stroller with a little girl in it no older than two. In the front of her, she carried a sleeping newborn, most likely a boy given the blue pajamas he was in.

Olivia gave the stranger a courteous smile. The woman was more intrigued obviously by the bulging belly nestled in Olivia's lap. "How far along are you?"

The woman's optimistic friendly nature and the fact that she had two kids close in age made Olivia believe that this mother was naïve and gullible, the kind who desired and planned accordingly for a large amount of babies. It would be no surprise if the woman was expecting another soon.

So Olivia decided to play along. "About six months."

"Oh that's wonderful! You must feel your baby kicking a lot."

"Yeah," Olivia lied. Technically she should've felt the baby kick her constantly for weeks. The only explanation for why Olivia never seemed to was perhaps of the blue plasma…so thick that she would only experience kicking in a severe circumstance…like the one she wished to forget.

"Boy or girl?"

"Girl," Olivia said hesitantly. She never thought about the baby's gender before but since it's supposed to the clone of a psychotic old woman it would make sense, right?

The mother showed the same excited towards Olivia that Rachel did. "That's great! You're going to love being a mother!"

Thank god, Olivia could act. "Well, I am excited." The lie made Olivia's stomach queasy. Her eyes glanced at the boy in the carrier who had woken up. His eyes darted straight into Olivia's as if the boy could sense that she was lying. It gave Olivia chills.

The mother then happily continued down the path with her kids, wishing Olivia good luck as she departed. By this time Olivia became so disgusted with the baby book that she wanted to rip it apart, dump it in a trashcan, and set the trashcan on fire.

Instead, she opted for closing the book and tossing it aside.

She didn't realize at that moment that Peter was watching her and that awkward exchange…as if life for Olivia Dunham wasn't awkward enough already.

Still he approached her, carrying a basket behind his back. When she turned to face him, the breeze blew her hair back to reveal a big smile on her face. Peter didn't think this was possible coming from Olivia after all that they had returned from. It was refreshing, quite relieving. But sadly Peter knew this moment wasn't going to last very long.

He would try and enjoy it anyway.

"Guess we picked a good time to come back," said Peter. He was also dressed for the nice weather. It was a welcomed change from the two of them concealing themselves in their long dull coats while working on cases.

"Weather in Boston is unpredictable," said Olivia. "So I wouldn't get used to it."

Peter took a seat on the grass by Olivia's side and placed the basket he carried between them. As soon as Olivia caught a scent of basket's contents, she chuckled. "You didn't."

"I did," Peter joked. "And I'm debating on whether it was even worth the risk. I opened the container while I was in the Oriental store and I just about puked."

Olivia pulled out a plastic container of kim-chi and quickly opened the top. "Augh," Peter cried trying to hold his nose. He took a plastic fork out of the basket and handed it to Olivia. "Here. Just take it!"

Peter turned his head slightly to avoid looking at her eating the nasty stuff.

"So," asked Peter. "What did you tell Broyles about what happened?"

"I told him, in a professional manner, that the information on the cult was part of a trap and that you and I nearly died in a cave-in. And that Massive Dynamic came to our rescue. He called Nina and believe it or not, she confirmed the story. Then came the soft lecture about how crazy I was to want to go down there to begin with."

"Sounds like the same lecture I gave you," said Peter. Olivia continued eating her food away from Peter in response.

The last thing she needed was to be reminded of that entire experience all together. Even Peter could see that the memories of Antarctica were still haunting her. It was the same glimpse of fear in her that he would see in himself in the mirror ever since they returned. The worse of those memories was being in that hut that he and Olivia were "treated" in. He could still remember every word of Mark screaming at Olivia…just knowing that her life was being threatened in all various forms and without knowing when.

"I know you don't want to talk about it, Liv," he said in a kind and friendly matter. "But there's got to be something we can do. There's got to be a way we can get you out of this mess after…"

"I…wouldn't talk about that around ME," Olivia said numbly. "You heard what Mark said…SHE's watching me. And it's true, Peter. They knew that we were trapped in that cave, and they knew about what happened when you and Walter were kidnapped. I don't know how, but every time we have issues with Ziegler, they always 'rescue' us. They'll find a way to track me down if I try to hide or run…so what else can I do about it?"

Peter sighed. Sadly, Olivia was right. That wouldn't stop his mind from working on a way…finding a way to protect Olivia after the baby was born. Because he also feared that the experience in Antarctica (particularly what Olivia suffered in that creepy ice cave cellar) had already scarred the genetic imperfections this child was expected to have. But if she was being watched, did that mean that he was being watched too? He didn't know how these cult bastards were going about with their intelligent schemes and that frustrated him.

"At the very least," said Peter. "Just take care of yourself."

She said nothing feeling as though her fate was already sealed no matter what she did.

"I don't care if they do hear this, Liv. I'm going to get you through this whether THEY like it or not."

~*~*~*~

After watching Olivia enjoy her food in peace, Peter took her back to the lab where Walter and Astrid were waiting on them. Olivia didn't realize how much being in that dreary basement…or how much she even missed Gene for that matter.

Walter wanted to do a follow-up on her condition after the past month, something that Olivia wasn't very comfortable with…but much like it was in that terrible place…Peter was there to get through it.

"Did you get to see the fluffy Aptenodytes?" asked Walter.

"He's referring to penguins," Peter explained to Olivia. "And no, Walter. I told you already that it was a horrid experience for both of us that we don't even want to think about right now. We just need to do if there's some way to stop this baby from coming too soon."

"Well I supposed being exposed to extremely cold temperatures would have some affect." Walter was listening in to Olivia's stomach with a fetal stethoscope "but the fetus sounds rather healthy."

"Maybe it's that blue plasma stuff," said Astrid. "Does that cause premature labor?"

"Oh, I wouldn't know," said Walter.

"You wouldn't know?!" Peter yelled. "Walter, you invented that stuff that's inside of Olivia right now!"

"In my defense boy, the plasma has only been tested about five times when I worked with Penrose," said Walter.

Olivia looked at Walter coldly. "And how did that work out for those women you tested?" She was expecting the worst results coming from this mad scientist.

"The first two women met tragic deaths early in their pregnancies, but quite accidental I assure you. We knew that the plasma would be radioactive. There was no way to prevent that. The good news was that the plasma's effects would become less threatening as the pregnancy progress. It would become thicker and harder. But Penrose and I were extremely careful to ensure that none of the births came early. And by the time the remaining three gave birth the plasma had disintegrated."

"So at least all your test subjects delivered on time and not too soon," said Astrid.

"Wait a second," said Olivia. "Walter…you're absolutely certain that you nor Penrose had any connections with the Guinevere Cult?"

"Of course not," said Walter. "Miss Farnsworth and I have been doing research on them while you and Peter were probably snogging each other at the South Pole…"

Peter gave Walter a very threatening look. "…but all the beliefs and research we've found on them was absolutely absurd even to an old man like myself."

"Walter thought he found something on Guinevere," said Astrid. "But then he realized he had been reading too much Arthurian literature lately. I had to explain to him to similarities."

"But Walter," said Olivia. "You and Penrose claim to have invented the plasma…then how in the world did this cult get their hands on the same stuff to put in me?"

Walter blinked and then smiled. "Oh my…that is a very good point. I never thought of that before."

Peter looked very annoyed but then said "you know, Penrose is still out there. He could've given them all that information."

"Except we don't know how to find him," said Olivia. "The Bureau hasn't had any good leads since he escaped. We're still back to square one."

"It's nothing to fear, Agent Dunham," Walter said. "By this time the plasma will be thick and hard enough to prevent much leaking into your system. In fact our subjects had to deliver their children through C-section because the plasma had gotten too thick and hard to pass through the vagina. Though if you're expected to deliver as early as you said, I suppose that a vaginal delivery would be alright given that the child will be small and the plasma coating thick and smooth so that it can vaginally pass through without causing much tears or damage to the vagina itself."

"Walter…" Peter was looking away from his dad in disgust. "I'll get you those horse eyes you want for your lab work if you stop saying 'vagina' in front of the women!"

"Oh…wonderful."

~*~*~*~

"Agent Dunham is being watched more closely by the cult because of what happened," said the Mole. "Fortunately much of the critical information that Guinevere is receiving is being taken less seriously as opposed to the condition of Agent Dunham and the child. Though I fear my identity as the mole is close to being unmasked."

"How so?" asked Ziegler.

"The company that Agent Dunham keeps. They know more about the real me than the cult does."

"Ah-ha," said Ziegler. "I knew that Bishop boy was going to be bad news. His attachment and loyalty to Dunham is going to interfere with everything."

"I know," said the Mole. "I can leave you to deal with that then."

"Indeed you will," said Ziegler.

"Try not to kill him this time around," the Mole advised him. "As much as you hate his kind, we cannot afford anymore deaths if we want to finish off Guinevere and take over her entire world."

~*~*~*~

Days passed and the most that Peter could do for Olivia was to look after her well being, if only to prolong the impending labor. She would often visit the lab even when she was in no condition to. It worried Peter that there was no way to determine when this birth was going to happen.

Aside from dealing with that, Walter had been looking for a new apartment for the two of them when Peter was gone. He had collected a few brochures of places that look remotely interesting.

"Walter…this apartment is located above a brothel! I don't think you would want to live in a place like that."

"Of course I do, boy. I spoke with the landlord and she said that at those rates, we only need to cope with a few nightly noises of a sexual nature. Sounds reasonable enough for $300 a month. And it's so close to the lab."

Peter was just glad that Olivia was taking a nap in her office.

Astrid came in with lunch as well as an envelope. "Peter, looks like someone left a note on the door for you. No address."

"The hell," said Peter. He was worried about the fact that the note was labeled specifically for him, right outside of the lab. Perhaps Big Eddie had finally tracked him down.

Astrid and Walter were busy eating while Peter sat on the couch and quietly read the note. His hands were shaking.

_'Information on the Guinevere Cult that I will ONLY share with you. Comply or Agent Dunham will not be safe.'_

The note had a meeting place and a time that Peter was not paying much attention to.

"Son of a bitch," he whispered to himself.

Why would anything about the Guinevere Cult be specifically addressed to him? Not like he had much of a choice in his mind BUT to comply…

...for Olivia, he would...even if this was all part of a vicious trap set for him.

* * *

**_Augh! Peter it's a trap you fool! LOL_**

**_In case you haven't realized it yet: this is gonna be a VERY long story. But expect the birth to happen soon...in the most Fringe-like of matters of course. Ha...foreshadowing. Next chap due soon_**.


	19. From the Other world

**_I whipped up another chapter to make up for the filler. I dont think it will work, heh. You might see some grammar errors and the like but if not then that means that my ability to write speedily is kicking ass! Peter lovers enjoy. This chap is his centric!_**

* * *

The nightmare that Olivia had in Antarctica was thankfully a one-time dream so far. She had gone back to her usual dreams about the cult. Still trapped in that same chair, with that same lizard-tiger hybrid she was petting.

_"They're angry about what happened in Antarctica," she said to her audience. "It would be quite hard to convince my people to show Agent Dunham some mercy."_

_"They fear that the damage has already been done," her advisor said. "And that we should prepare a new copy immediately. Now that we have the ancient copies…"_

_"We wouldn't have gotten those copies without HER."_

_"Guinevere, darling. We both know that she is worth nothing to this society once the child is born. And the others fear that she will expose our secrets to the other world."_

_"And no news on Ziegler. His spy is still within these walls and I want him found."_

_"I will do my best."_

_Two other came into the small meeting room carrying a familiar mechanical device in their hands. "You've tested it," she asked them._

_"The child won't feel the effects since it's currently in the other world but we can confirm that this is the device we've waited hundreds of years to find."_

_Olivia smiled and said to her friends. "Have faith then, everyone. The child's genes will not need to be perfect now that we have this."_

_Then Olivia found herself doing something that her mind was screaming at her not to do. Her hands were on the handle of the device, cranking it._

~*~*~*~

Olivia quickly woke up in a sweat. For a moment she thought she was feeling extreme pain in her abdomen again but perhaps it was just an illusion. She sat at the edge of the cot that was in her office.

The pain would come back. She knew this. They would bring the device to this world and make her feel pain again. She just didn't know when.

Peter walked in after knocking and saw Olivia in that very stressful worrisome position. "Liv, you okay?"

He sat by her side on the cot. "Hey…are you having THAT dream again?"

She shook her head nervously. "No…no not that one again. Just the ones I used to have before."

"Oh?"

"I was being addressed as Guinevere and they had the fetuses…and the device. They're going to use it again on me."

He put an arm around Olivia and said "but hey, they're just dreams right? It's not really you."

A light bulb was exploding in Peter's mind at that moment. He had a theory. This was all part of the Pattern after all so no theory was considered impossible. He wanted to scream it out to Olivia, relieve her of all of her fears and worries with the one bit of knowledge that would give her hope. But if his theory was correct, then Olivia COULDN'T know.

She had to kept in the dark.

He saw the baby book that Olivia had on her desk and asked, "mind if I flip through this?"

"Why?" asked a naïve Olivia.

Peter only smiled at her and said "I'm just curious about what this book has to say."

He stepped out of the lab and began flipping through the pages now that Olivia was not present. He found exactly what he was looking for one page 23…

"Oh Peter!" said Walter happily. "Taking an interest in Agent Dunham's pregnancy? That's very thoughtful of you. Perhaps you can take her to a Lamaze class."

"Keep it down Walter," said Peter. He shoved the baby book under this nose. "Read this section."

Walter skimmed through it and said "this topic merely discuss the theory that babies can hear while in their mothers before they're even born."

"Think for me Walter…have you ever worked with clones that can read each others minds?"

"Hmm…suppose I may have tried it once or twice."

"Alright now think about that, this baby inside of Olivia is supposed to Guinevere's clone. Suppose Guinevere is trying to communicate with the baby."

"The child has no ability to communicate when it's not yet born, Peter."

"It can still hear though can it? Put two and two together. If the baby is inside of Olivia and can hear everything she says…"

Walter clasped his hands. "Than Guinevere can hear every word that Agent Dunham says through reading the baby."

Peter was relieved with realization. "That's how she's keeping tabs on Liv. And it goes both ways, Liv's been hearing Guinevere in her dreams. Maybe when she's sleeping she can hear her."

"Oh son!" Walter hugged Peter. "I knew that 190 IQ of yours was bound to come of use someday! Oh we should let Agent Dunham in on the good news."

"No Walter…listen. That's the problem. We can't let Olivia know or else they'll know."

"Oh."

"But we can still help her. After she has this baby, we could hide her somewhere that even she won't know where she is."

"Like an apartment above a brothel?"

Peter rolled his eyes. "No, Walter. Just call Astrid and look for some undistinguished safe houses for Liv. But don't tell her a thing!" Peter grabbed his jacket.

"Where are you going, son?"

He stopped. "Someplace…I have to be. I'll meet you back at the hotel later." Peter hesitantly walked out of the lab checking his watch. He had to be at the meeting place in an hour even though, he felt VERY uncertain about whether or not he should be doing this.

But that note was written for him and Olivia's safety depended on him showing up.

~*~*~*~

Peter got to the abandoned warehouse. The place was incredibly dark. He was prepared though, knowing that someone would most likely jump him. He wouldn't have a chance if a dozen men where hiding in their waiting for their chance as well.

"You're here," said the familiar voice. "And you're still standing after I shot you."

Peter turned around. It was Harold Ziegler. Peter instinctively tried to pull a punch at Ziegler but he grabbed his arm. Peter then flipped Ziegler to the ground and the two men began to struggle.

"I suppose this is the part where you call your henchmen out to finish me," said Peter.

"This is personal matter, boy. There's no one else here."

"Yeah?" asked Peter. He had Ziegler pinned but he knew it wasn't going to last long. "And what exactly do YOU have against ME?"

"My informant knows the disgusting truth about you. You're…one of THEM."

"One of who?!" Peter hissed. "I'm not part of that f**ked-up cult! You've got some nerve assuming that!"

Ziegler sense the frustration in Peter was distracting him and made a quick move to knock him to the floor.

"You've come from their world though, don't you?"

Peter's eyes widened. "What are you talking about?"

"You were born in their reality."

"Did you call me here to mess with my mind?!"

"Well," said Ziegler. "If it were up to me, I would be killing you right now."

"Don't worry," said Peter. "I'm feeling the same about killing you!"

They continued to wrestle, punch, and struggle. "You other world folk. You're all sick twisted beings!"

"Stop that!" said Peter.

Ziegler laughed. "How can you not remember? You couldn't have been no more than a child when you crossed over here. Perhaps your father made you think it was all in your head…that you woke up from a very long dream."

"What does my father have to do with anything?" said Peter. "Other than how you tried to kill us both?"

Ziegler gave him a vicious smile and said "you're father brought you to this world…to replace the one he lost."

Peter's grip on Ziegler loosened. He got up nervously. "What does that have to do with the cult? What does that have to do with Olivia?"

Ziegler scoffed. "That cursed Guinevere and her followers…you were born in her world and you have the nerve to come here. Your kind are disgusting, vicious, merciless killers…and you are part of their prophecy!"

The man, in Peter's mind, was becoming delusional compared to the man who shot him cold in the ice cave. "Damn you!" said Peter. "I don't give a crap what you're saying. I'm not one of them!" He grabbed a large wooden board and swung it at Ziegler. He began to cough up blood.

"To hell with the plan," Ziegler coughed. "I prefer your world to vanish over this one…"

Peter looked down at the man both confused and frightened by his words.

"Why don't you run home to your father and get the truth from him?"

This anger Peter so much that he took the board and swung it at Ziegler's direction again…

"In the meantime, there's still the matter of Agent Dun-"

The board struck Ziegler out cold before he could finish. Peter was a little bit regretful of letting his rage get to him before getting any vital information. But Ziegler was clearly psychotic.

He checked his pulse. The man was still alive. Peter then heard noises that startled him. He thought about abducting Ziegler in the same fashion, which he abducted him. But his hatred and confusion pushed the thought out.

Peter disappeared from the scene and silently walked back to the hotel.

~*~*~*~

Walter seemed cheery despite having heard the door slam and Peter entering. "Oh son," Astrid has looked into a few hidden cabins and reserves that would be perfect to hide Agent Dunham."

"Yeah," Peter muttered. "Did she go home?"

"I should hope so," said Walter. This didn't comfort Peter. "Is something wrong, boy?"

Peter sighed and dropped himself onto the couch with a beer. "I had a meeting with our crazy kidnapper."

"Now why on earth would you want to meet him? He didn't seem very kind to us when he had us beaten and tied."

Peter gulped his beer and said, "he was raving on and on about how I…Peter Bishop came from their twisted messed up version of a reality when I was a kid. Then he went on about prophecies and shit."

Walter just about had a heart attack when he heard this. "Did…did you say…another reality?"

"You remember back when I was younger, Walter? I always thought that I came from another planet because all of my childhood toys looked weird…heck even you and mom both acted and dressed weird. I guess I was too stupid and naïve back then to think that you weren't the mad scientist you became back when I was like…I dunno…five or six. You filmed my preschool graduation remember?"

Walter scratched his head. "I did?"

"I've been going crazy trying to find that tape but you and mom were saying that's B.S. because I got promoted to Kindergarten before I even finished preschool."

Walter began to sniff and cry suddenly. "What the hell's with you?"

"Son," said Walter as he joined Peter on the couch. "I feared the day when another, other than Belly, would know about what I did."

Peter developed a bad feeling in his gut. "About what?"

"He speaks the truth, Peter. You're from the other universe."

He eyed his father for a moment and said "nice one."

"Sadly, Peter," Walter said. "I can prove it."

~*~*~*~

They quietly walked through the cemetery. It wouldn't surprise Peter if Walter had some sort of cruel prank going on where somebody jumped out at him from behind one of the big tombstones.

But Walter sighed and stopped at a child's grave. Out of curiosity, Peter flashed a light on the tombstone.

Peter's name was on that grave. What terrified him more were the dates on that grave.

"So…" he said shaking. "There was another kid named Peter Bishop in Boston. Big deal."

"A Peter Bishop who had the same birth year as you?" said Walter.

"It's a big enough town."

"Peter…" said Walter. "YOU did not remember the rare bird flu that you contracted…because you died from it."

"Okay, Walter. I hope you enjoyed your little fun…"

"I DO NOT LIE, PETER!" Walter began to break down in tears at that moment. "It explains the things that confused you. The changes to your bedroom…your home…your mother and I. You once thought that Rufus was named Milo because it's all true. I was watching you when I was over there. I looked at the world you were in. It was different yes but you were still so much like him. So innocent and so beautiful."

Peter stared at the grave denying Walter's words.

"But then YOU saw me spying on you one day…and you came out to see me. I didn't have much time…never enough. Belly was my only means of crossing the two realities back then. You wanted to come with me when you saw that I was going somewhere…and I…I couldn't say no. Not to Peter…not to my boy!"

Peter dropped his flashlight. "Walter…if ANY of this were true why would you wait till now to…"

"I don't know…"

Peter grabbed Walter's arm pulling him up unwillingly. "Dammit Walter! Tell me!"

"I couldn't bear it, son! Neither could your mother! I did it for us both!"

Peter dropped him to the ground. Walter hurt his arm doing so but Peter no longer seemed to care.

"I always knew you were only the type who only gave a crap about yourself."

He left Walter to silently cry over the grave. Peter was left with only hurt, realization, and disillusionment. "Go to hell, Walter."

With that, Peter went to car and drove off, abandoning Walter and all the injustice and misery he caused him. Peter was going to drink himself silly in order to get over this night.

* * *

**_Now you're probably wondering what Peter learning about his alter reality heritage has ANYTHING to do with the whole cult and Liv being preggers plot of this fic. Well, more than you think. But that will be revealed another time. Heh heh._**


	20. Plans moving forward

**_I was gonna split this chapter into two parts for suspense purposes but I feel awkward when chapters have different lengths. It's a thing with me. Oh well. Just enjoy the cliffhanger._**

* * *

The vibrating noise jump-started her heart. It took a second to realize that it was coming from her cell phone.

_Dear God_, Olivia thought. Why did every sound have to constantly remind her of that pain-giving machine?

She took a few deep breaths as she was lying in bed on her back. Then, without turning over, grabbed her phone and answered. "Dunham."

She heard a soft noise on the other end…almost like whimpering.

"Hello?"

She then sniffing. "Oh…Agent Dunham, I don't mean to wake you…"

"Walter? Is that you?"

"…Yes."

"Are you okay? Where's Peter?"

"Oh…" Walter sniffed. "I'm afraid it is my fault. I angered him. He abandoned me because I told him the truth about…oh…"

"Where are you? I'll make Peter come and get you."

"I'm afraid that won't do," said Walter. "He must've dropped his phone without realizing it in his fit of anger. Poor boy. Your name was on the phone and only luck allowed me to press the right button to ensure you answered."

"It's gonna be alright, Walter. Where are you at?"

"Oh…I'm at a cemetery…quite close to the campus actually."

"I know where that is. Just stay there. I'll come and get you okay?"

The moment Olivia hung up, she slowly and cautiously pull herself up. Her back was sore…ungodly sore at this point. She feared she snapped something when she started to feel a sharp pain…

…until she realized the sharp pain was coming from her stomach.

She started to breath heavily…fearing the worst, until the pain finally stopped. Her fears were coming to fruition. Time was running out for her.

Still that didn't stop Olivia from getting dressed and making her way to her car.

~*~*~*~

She parked the car infront of the cemetery entrance, but Walter was nowhere to be seen. It frustrated her that she would have to waddle her way through the graveyard despite being sore all over. Eventually, she found Walter sniffing and sobbing over one of the graves in the darkness.

"Come on, Walter," Olivia said as she tried to guide him away from the grave. Her head turned to look back at the stone…and she froze.

"Walter…that stone…it has…"

"His name, Agent Dunham," Walter said sadly. "Because it is HIS."

It was a slow trip back to the car as Walter tried to explain the whole story to Olivia. She was having a hard time believing this. But then what else would've compelled Peter to stoop to leaving his own father abandoned in a graveyard?

"Why would you keep this from anyone, Walter? Especially Peter?"

"Because lies can sometimes bring more comfort than the truth, Agent Dunham. I couldn't hold it in anymore. Around the time when I was sent off to St. Claire's my boy's intelligence was hitting its peak and he was starting to become very suspicious. I tried to tell him then but…"

"You do realize," said Olivia. "That what you did…it could've had an affect on the other-reality? I saw some really terrible things when I was there…"

"I know, Agent Dunham. My love for my son blinded me. I must admit that in a way that perhaps I would not have become so…mad…had I not lost Peter to begin with."

Walter and Olivia got into the car but Olivia was steaming mad. "And not before? Back when you were doing experiments on kids like me?!"

"Oh," said Walter. "I suppose I always was mad then."

"Well," said Olivia. "Now I know that you treat you own children no better than you would treat any one else's."

"But it was all out of parental love, Agent Dunham. One day you might find yourself taking those kind of risks for your own children…I mean children of your genes not this particular one inside of you right now."

Olivia started the car and said, "I doubt it. This is the last child I'm EVER going to have."

The drive back to the hotel was very silent. Anger and confusion boiled together with soreness inside of Olivia.

"I'm sorry," Walter muttered. "That this had to happen to you."

Olivia sighed. "It's not your fault, Walter…and…I didn't mean to do what I did when you told me…I was just…scared."

"All in the past dear…"

"Yeah," she said. "Except the fear is still there. I don't even know what to do when it happens. If I should just go to a hospital and tell them to expect some blue residue when I deliver or…"

"Oh Agent Dunham there's no need for you to deal with that humiliation. Perhaps I could be of assistance. I did assist my other test subject in their pregnancies. I do worry about the prematurity of the situation though…perhaps a hospital would be best. I know how you must feel about the idea of a perversed scientist like myself having to gander at your privates to deliver a product of science."

Olivia tensed up at the thought but took a deep breath. "Walter…I…I think I might be crazy but…I think you should do it. I think you should deliver this baby for me."

Walter was about to cry again. "Oh dear…that is quite touching but I still worry about the stage of the plasma buildup. I do not know…"

"It's okay, Walter. I trust you…I know you will do your best to help me."

"Oh I will Agent Dunham!" Walter was excited and happy again since his son abandoned him. "Oh I do hope Peter comes back in time. I'm sure he will want to be there to help as well."

"I'll keep looking for him, Walter. You take it easy."

Walter got out of the car a happy man. "You will probably want to call me the moment you start leaking unusual fluids from your vag--…I mean down there."

Olivia smirked and said, "I know, Walter."

~*~*~*~

With no way of contacting Peter, Olivia didn't know exactly how to track him down. Her instincts told her to hit the bars all around the city. It wasn't easy. Olivia had to resist staying for a few extra minutes at each place to take a drink. She opted instead for a quick and professional stroll into each one using her FBI demeanor to ask if a man resembling Peter had been seen. So far she got nothing…except for a lot of unusual stares by people looking at her pregnant belly.

Halfway through the day, she was starting to feel very sore and tired but was determined to keep searching.

~*~*~*~

"What the hell, Ziegler!" The Mole was clearly not happy. "You were supposed to tell Bishop to mind his own business about the whole situation but instead you decided to try and kill him. We need him alive, dammit!"

Ziegler was wiping the blood from his mouth that Peter caused earlier. "I don't see why we need to him alive."

"I surprises me that you should say that, Ziegler. Do you not want their entire kind wiped out for what they've done to you? To your family?"

"Of course," said Ziegler. "I just can't stand the fact that people like him are even allowed to mingle in our world."

"I know," said the Mole. "But if we want to destroy them. We have to have patience and go through with The Plan accordingly. The portal device is ready…we just need that tool for the final step."

"And where, pray tell, is this last tool?"

The Mole passed to Ziegler a folded photograph of a strange remote with a dial on top. "I've written the location of where this might be on the back."

"Harvard University?"

"Believe me…it will be there. When Agent Dunham has the child the lab will remain unoccupied. That is when you will go in and retrieve this. I must go and carry out the orders the cult has given me."

"What orders?"

The Mole pulled out the cranking device and said, "to induce the labor of Agent Dunham."

~*~*~*~

It was late afternoon by the time Olivia returned to her apartment. She was exhausted as she tossed her coat and her cellphone and plopped onto the couch. There was no success in calling Peter. Tracking down his car…going into every bar…it was all hopeless.

But Olivia thought this couldn't last forever. If anything, Peter's anger would subside and he would have no choice but to come back and face the music…and his father.

Peter from another reality…the idea was still quite freaky in Olivia's mind. She knew that he wasn't going to cope with his situation anymore than she would all of hers.

Checking the mail, Olivia found a letter had been dropped off for her. Rachel's handwriting.

_'It's gonna be okay now. We won the case. Please come and see me.'_

Olivia was ecstatic with relief. At the bottom of the letter was an address…a real one from a town just outside of Boston. Rachel was now able to keep Ella. Olivia wanted to rush over there right now just to hug her sister and to warn her to never resort to such a insane tactic ever again. But she had to control herself when she realized that their lives were still being compromised…by her own.

She put her focus into cleaning the living room and waiting in anticipation for a call about Peter. Feeling nauseous, she went to open the window to let in the air but spotted the last person she expected to find standing across the street…looking straight at her.

She looked again. The person wasn't there. Olivia cursed herself. Her mind was playing tricks.

…or otherwise she had a bad tendency to see the Observer everywhere she went when others couldn't.

If only Olivia had known…that her mind wasn't fooling her this time around.

The Observer was down the street, watching the apartment. He opened his watch. It was about to happen. The timing never failed him.

~*~*~*~

Meanwhile, the Mole was in a parking lot outside of a nearby hospital. A few people dressed in doctors' scrubs approached him.

"Your Guinevere's comrade, aren't you? From the other world?" said one of the doctors.

"I am," he smiled. "And you must be her followers."

"Only in this reality," said one female red-head doctor.

"Well, if this becomes successful," said the Mole. "You people may one day get to travel to the other side and see her world for yourselves. I know you will not fail her."

"Of course not."

"Well," said the Mole. "Let's get this started".

The doctors went inside while the Mole went into the van. The cranking device was set inside…ready for activation.

~*~*~*~

The moment was arriving. The Observer checked his watch. In his mind, he began to count…

...FIVE…

The Mole cranked the device once.

...FOUR…

Twice.

...THREE…

Olivia turned off the vacuum. She spent an eternity standing there, feeling the massive pounding in her head. Her lungs were becoming short of breath defying her belief that she was fine, that this was nothing.

...TWO…

The Mole continued to turn the machine.

She could hear it. She could hear the cranking in her head. This wasn't a delusion this time. Before she felt the pain in her stomach, she was crying in disbelief. This wasn't happening! It's too soon!

…ONE…

Olivia collapsed to the ground.

The Observer closed his watch and walked down the street to a café.

The pain was similar to what happened in Antarctica. She was bound to the floor, wriggling helplessly on her back. But as seconds continued to pass, the pain grew. It wasn't limited to one area. It was moving downward.

~*~*~*~

Two young paramedics were walking out of a cafe just finishing their break when they saw the most unusual man in the world calmly approaching them.

"Excuse me, gentlemen."

It took the two paramedics a few seconds to realize this man's unusual feature was his lack of hair and eyebrows. "Uh can we help you, man?"

The Observer pointed down the street, towards a particular apartment. "There is a woman in that apartment who is in labor."

The two paramedics looked at each other for a second. Finally deciding to go and respond, they got into their ambulance as the Observer walked away…leaving the neighborhood for good.

~*~*~*~

She was screaming but all her mind could comprehend was the sound of cranking. It wasn't stopping. None of it was.

She reached her arm out to the ceiling. Her cell phone was on the kitchen table. Not like there was anyway for her to move from her current position.

The door to her apartment swung opened and she could see two similar pairs of legs rushing in.

It wasn't until she was placed on a stretcher did she comprehend how this situation was not right. "Wait," she moaned. But she was already being placed into the ambulance.

This was not good. She was supposed to deliver this thing in the lab...with Walter, and Astrid, and…

"Peter."

It was a whimpering, pathetic cry that wasn't going to be heard by anyone.

The Mole watched as his doctor companions stood outside of the hospital. The ambulance pulled up and the paramedics pulled Olivia out.

It was all working out too perfectly.

* * *

**_As a golden rule of writing cruelty...I am obligated to leave you hanging here for a little while. Yes I'm pumping out these chapters quite fast but that will all change in about a week. Long story but I will have this mega story finished by the end of summer. No worries._**


	21. Twisted birthing place Part 1

Peter didn't realize that he had been drinking for so long. He must've hit every bar in New England in the course of one night. By the time the noon sun was about to peak, Peter still hadn't slept. He sat in a small diner in Rhode Island downing about several cups of coffee. He wanted to check the time only to find out after a whole night of drinking that he didn't have his cell phone on him. Damn. He could've lost that phone in any of the several dozen bars he visited. Guess that would explain why Olivia hadn't yet called him to give him the third degree on yelling at Walter and leaving him helpless and alone in a cemetery late at night.

A replacement from the other world…who would've thunk it?

His I.Q. must've dropped a few points just from trying to deal with it all.

Fortunately all of the coffee he drank allowed him to stay awake, as it was now time for him to drive back to Boston and face the music.

On the drive…he did his best to think the best about the situation. Perhaps it explained why Walter wanted to experiment on him all the time. Perhaps coming from the other reality meant that he had some special powers and Walter wanted to confirm all of this.

Or perhaps that was the other Walter.

Not that any of it made a difference. He could run the hell out of New England right now if he wanted to…except Olivia was for far more clever than he first took for granted. She of all people would not let him get away easily. But he still couldn't see the point of sticking around…nor could he see why SHE would NEED him to stick around. Why not put Astrid on Walter-care duty? She's survived him for a month after all.

Yet before Peter knew it, he was re-entering Boston by mid-afternoon. He wasn't prepared to face Olivia so much as his own father. He'd probably go and yell at Walter some more. Olivia would've probably known by now the events between him, Ziegler, and Walter over the course of the night and that thought made confronting this whole situation even more unpleasant.

He spent a few more hours wandering around town quite hesitant. He wasn't going to forgive his father for this. Yet he wouldn't be able to escape. Living in the hotel would remain a nightmare. He didn't know what to do.

~*~*~*~

Around late afternoon, Walter and Astrid were in the lab when they were startled by the door opening.

Walter nearly had a heart attack when he saw Peter walking in. "Son…I…"

"Save your breath, Walter."

He walked over to this father. Walter wanted to hide under a table…behind Gene…behind the young assistant. But none of them were really that capable of fending off the possible rage boiling within Peter. Too bad Olivia wasn't there. She could've dealt with him easily.

But Peter wasn't willing to kill Walter…not just yet. Instead gave a deep sigh. He was still numb, still cold, still ill from his drinking binge.

He dropped a pamphlet on the table in front of Walter. "It's a two-bedroom…also thankfully a two-bathroom. A 10-minute drive to and from the lab but it's something we can barely afford on a mad scientist salary. We would have to cut back on a few things And it's not above any brothels."

Walter stared at the pamphlet. "Oh son…does this mean you forgive me?"

"Hell no."

Walter frowned.

"But since I'm stuck with you doing this crap. I thought I'd make it easy for the both of us by getting a place where I don't have to look at you while I sleep."

"Oh," said Walter. "I suppose that's understandable."

"Besides, Olivia would kill me if I didn't get over this soon," he said.

That reminded Walter of something. He pulled the cell phone out from his pocket. "Here, son. You dropped this at the cemetery."

Peter snatched the phone. "You need to come with me now to sign the lease. The sooner we get this place, the sooner I can try and put all of this behind me."

"Really?"

"…No."

Walter was hurt and upset deep down, but had to let himself look on the bright side of things. "Well…it would be nice for me to be able to work on my omelet experiments in the privacy of my own room without the risk of you eating them again."

Peter sighed. On the way out the lab, Walter following him, Peter decided to give Olivia a call. No answer. He found it a bit odd but perhaps it was getting to the point where she was so exhausted and sleepy that she would ignore everyone's calls.

Yeah…that was probably it.

~*~*~*~

St. Genevieve Hospital remained a hidden an unknown medical facility from the rest of Boston. Very small an privately-owned the facility only served about 100 patients a day and almost all of them were medically-insured to receive free treatment.

On this day, however, they were getting one patient that wasn't affiliated with their hospital…one that only certain staff was expecting.

The two paramedics were a bit confused when they were told en-route to bring their patient here but asked no questions as they pulled her out of the ambulance. Lucky for the hospital staff, the paramedics were quite gullible.

Olivia was too much in pain to be aware of where she was or what was going on. All she knew was that things were not going like they planned. She would have to deliver this baby in THIS hospital whether she wanted to or not. Hopefully the doctors won't freak out so much if anything "weird" happened during the birth.

The red-haired doctor and her associates brought Olivia into the emergency lobby much to the surprise of the receptionist. "Dr. Brown? I don't think we have a record on this patient."

"We don't," said Dr. Brown. "We won't need to. This is one of our 'special patients'. I will be tending to this one personally."

"FBI…I'm FBI Agent Dunham," Olivia moaned. "You need to call Phillip Broyles at the Bureau…tell him I'm here."

Dr. Brown turned to the receptionist with a sweet and humorous manner. "FBI Agent? Heh. I think this one's getting quite delusional. No need to worry."

The receptionist nodded. She understood immediately what Dr. Brown meant when she preferred to Olivia as a 'special patient'. The hospital was known for treating nothing but 'special patients'. Odd though that this one would involve a pregnant woman and that the head of the hospital wanted special charge of her. She had to be REALLY special.

The screaming in Olivia's head was eventually disrupted by actual screaming. She looked around as she was been wheeled down the hall. She could've sworn that she heard the screaming of a man from one of the operating rooms. Soon afterward, the male doctors rushed into one of the operating rooms while the female doctors quickly stripped Olivia of her normal clothing into a hospital gown. Olivia was in too much pain to suspect something was wrong. Yet she couldn't help but felt something unusual about the way these doctors were behaving.

From the corner of her eye, she could see doctors walking down the halls with blood completely staining their hands and scrubs. She found the walls of the facility were darkly painted and worn down. This was not a well-kept place.

"Where…am…I?"

Dr. Brown ignored her. "You need to be quiet."

"Where am I?!" Olivia demanded.

Dr. Brown looked down at her. "I said you need to calm down and be quiet if you want this baby out!"

Averting her eyes away from Dr. Brown's fierce ones, Olivia noticed a shiny pin on Dr. Brown's scrubs. A circle symbol above a triangle with a horizontal line in between.

In a flash her mind was thinking back…back to the familiar shape she saw…it was in the book the Observer gave her. The symbol appeared on that one page in the book all large and bold.

Olivia's head turned to the other doctors surrounding her. Each one was wearing the same pin! The nurses, the orderlies walking the hallways. She could see it everywhere.

With every ounce of strength she had, Olivia immediately rose up and began to struggle with the doctors as they tried to push her back down. "Get off of me!" she cried. "Get me out of here! You're all in the cult!"

"Need some help here!" cried Dr. Brown. No matter how hard the doctors tried to restrain her Olivia fought even harder, even digging her nails into their arms. It was an act of desperation; motivated more by anger, fear, and the labors pain.

A few orderlies rushed over to assist the doctor. They were young, inexperienced, and weren't wearing the same pins…thought that didn't matter to Olivia. None of the staff here could be trusted. Finally one doctor was able to shoved Olivia's mouth with gauze to drown out her voice. It was still too risky to use drugs in this case.

"It's all right, everyone." Dr. Brown assured everyone who was staring at the scene in the hallway. "It's just an hysterical pregnant woman. You know how they are when they're in labor."

As they wheeled her into the operating room, Olivia could see one of the nurses dumping her clothes into a disposal bin clearly marked 'to be burned' on the side.

~*~*~*~

"You know, we are near Agent Dunham's living quarters…" said Walter. "Perhaps we can stop by and say hello. I'm sure she's missed you during you late night hissy-fit."

Peter agreed to go. But when they pulled up infront of her place Peter turned to Walter and said "I'm going in for a minute to let her know I'm back. You stay in the car."

He slammed the door and went up to her apartment. The door wasn't completely closed all the day. Her car was parked right outside the building so she had to be in. "Liv?" he called out.

Nothing.

His first indication that something was wrong was that her coat was still on the coat rack and her cell phone was left on the kitchen table…with Peter's unanswered calls.

And then, he saw the scuffmarks on the living room floor…leading all the way out the door.

Peter ran back into the car, heart-pounding, and with Olivia's cell phone in hand.

"I think Olivia went into labor," said Peter. "The paramedics must've picked her up…but…"

Walter looked disappointed and sighed. "Oh…and just last night Agent Dunham was requesting that I do the honors. I suppose she wasn't willing to trust me after all."

Peter checked her phone. "She hasn't made any calls today. Not even a 9-1-1 call. Don't you find that suspicious?"

"Well you do have her phone," said Walter. "That would make it a bit difficult, don't you think?"

Peter didn't care. He found something very wrong with all of this…a bad feeling. He immediately called Astrid to find which hospital she may have been taken to. Hopefully that would put his mind at ease.

~*~*~*~

The operating room she was brought into looked dark and normal but that didn't stop Olivia from trying to fight off the doctors as they transferred her onto a birthing bed. They even went as far as to place restraints on her arms.

She could be slowly turning delusional…in a state of grand paranoia from the terrible pain in her head…and in her womb. But Olivia's instincts were winning out on this one. This was all wrong. This was all terribly wrong.

As the doctors were prepping, conversing in an unusually secretive tone, Olivia saw someone staring at her…watching her through an observation window. His face was calm and collective and yet there was a tint of remorse. Or perhaps Olivia's mind was playing tricks.

It had to be.

Of all the people she would expect to be watching her give birth to this…she wasn't expecting this person in particular to be here.

Yet there he stood. She had no doubt in her mind that the man who was watching was none other than William Bell.

* * *

**_Freaky huh? Bet you didn't see any of that coming. I have the next couple of parts to this story written but I'm a bit hesistant about posting them as is. The next chaps would get quite dark (some parts playing out as torture scenes) and I already got another short P/O really dark story I'm in the process of writing. Good god do I have a twisted mind to be writing two REALLY dark Fringe stories at once! I dunno what to do. You interested in anything that's coming?..the other story I have planned?..or...come on people! Review for me with your two cents or I'll be spending too much time contemplating on how the next chapter should go. :)_**


	22. Twisted birthing place Part 2

**_Seriously guys, try and brace yourselves. I tried to tone this chapter down as much as I could, but this might be the most disturbing chapter of any Fringe fanfic out there to date. My angsty self couldn't help this, alright?! Besides, this makes the next few chapters I got even better, you'll see. _**

**_Once again, weaker stomachs might wanna hang on..._**

* * *

Peter and Walter went back to the lab waiting very impatiently for any news. Astrid said that Charlie was working his ass on it but it would take a while to track anything down.

After one very impatient hour, the phone rang…Peter literally dove for Astrid's phone nearly crushing her arm. "Charlie!"

"We got a report that two paramedics picked up a woman having contractions matching Liv's description. They were intending to take her to Boston General, but they were informed en-route to redirect her to St. Genevieve's."

"St. Genevieve's?"

Astrid immediately looked up the data on the hospital while Peter put the phone on speaker. "There's only one St. Genevieve's in Boston and it looks like it's just a small private-care facility. Privately owned. I don't why they would take her there instead of a military hospital…unless she has some patient record with them."

Charlie replied, "she doesn't".

"I hope you're thinking what I'm thinking," said Peter.

"That something's not right? Absolutely. I'll inform Broyles of the situation."

"Good. I'm heading over there right now." Peter hung up the phone. "Let's go, Walter."

"Uh…Peter." Peter stopped when he saw Astrid staring at something on the screen. She then pulled out the little leather book. "See the symbol on their logo?" Astrid pointed to the hospital logo on their website. The website didn't have much to say except for who worked there and how the hospital served only a few hundred specialty patients advertising free medical care if they were contracted with them.

Astrid flipped through the book to the page bearing a picture. "They have a symbol similar to this picture. Exact same shape and everything."

Peter looked back at the book then at the logo. "It can't be what I think it is."

Astrid slapped her head. "Shit! How could I not see the obvious?"

Peter's heart was racing. "What?"

"Genevieve?! That's the French alteration of the English name Guinevere!"

In a split second, Peter grabbed Walter and rushed out of the lab…Astrid quickly followed. They sped out of the parking nearly hitting some Harvard students on their way.

Watching the chaos unknown to them was Ziegler. At that moment, he knew that the lab would now be empty to begin his search.

~*~*~*~

They placed her in the proper birthing position on the bed, but Olivia did not trust anything that these doctors were doing to her. She was far from comfortable with her legs were pushed back and spread apart or that her feet were strapped to stirrups. She could see (with disgust) how every staff member in the room was watching the region in-between as if it was being put on full display for them.

Perhaps that this was supposed to be how it's done. But Olivia did not like ANY of it. Not that it mattered to these doctors. They were doing everything without her consent.

She had eventually fought off the gauze that was stuffed into her mouth. But she knew that it was pointless to scream. "Who the hell do you people think you are?!!"

Dr. Brown sat on a stool infront of Olivia's exposed self. "Don't be ridiculous, Agent Dunham. We're doctors trying to help you deliver your baby."

_Agent_ Dunham? So clearly Dr. Brown was lying to the receptionist's face when accusing Olivia of being delusional.

Olivia grinded her teeth. "It's YOUR baby, obviously."

"Why I don't know what you mean." One of the doctors brought over to Dr. Brown a large tray of unusual foreign-looking metal devices. Clearly these were not normal hospital tools.

"We do know, however…" said Dr. Brown. "…that this is NOT a normal baby we need to get out of you. So we're using special tools for…special precautions." Despite all the labor pains Olivia was enduring, she tried to choke a small laugh at the use of the term 'special precautions'.

"Do I at least get any drugs?!"

Dr. Brown smirked at her. "You? A tough FBI Agent needing drugs? I've had three children without having to take a single milligram of aspirin. Besides…drugs are too risky in this circumstance. But since you're being such a baby about having a baby I'll direct you to what I'll be using."

From the medical tray, Dr. Brown picked up a very large oddly shape metal tool and waved it infront of Olivia. "This is a special kind of speculum to ensure the child comes out smoothly."

Olivia was a bit horrified. The tool looked nothing like anything she had ever seen in her life. "You can't be serious about putting that thing in me."

Dr. Brown coldly responded. "It's only as painless as you make it, Agent Dunham."

~*~*~*~

"We didn't have an Olivia Dunham checked in," said the receptionist. "We don't even have that name on record with this hospital."

Peter growled "Maybe I have to repeat myself again. Because you're one lying little bitch!"

"Sir, I'm gonna have to ask you to leave before I call security."

Astrid and Walter were looking around the lobby feeling very nervous. They watched as another pair of doctors were dragging a wounded man into the hospital, the skin on his arms (all the way up to his cheek) was turning very dark and scaly as if he was turning part snake. The doctors were wearing the same pins with the familiar odd symbol on them as they approached the receptionist's desk. "The skin experiment's affecting his skeletal system. He's losing bone in his limbs."

The receptionist said "get him to Operating Room B. Dr. Graham's waiting for him!"

As the weird trio disappeared down the hall, Walter leaned over to Astrid and whispered. "It looks like something from one of my tests forming reptilian skin on humans."

Astrid was disgusted. "What the f**k kind of hospital is this?!"

Peter grabbed the receptionist's arm pinning it to her desk. "Where is she?! What the hell are you doing to Olivia?!"

"SECURITY!!!"

One security guard came grabbing Peter from behind while another security guard pulled a gun on Walter and Astrid forcing all three of them to a back exit of the hospital. Both of the guards were wearing that blasted pin.

~*~*~*~

The doctors and staff in the room had already marked Olivia as the inferior. To them, she was a human being of no value…and the baby that was soon to come out of her was the only reason why she wasn't dead yet.

She was determined not to give any satisfaction though, as she felt her insides being stretched…near the point of tearing. The baby was already stretching her from one end and now these doctors were doing the same on the other end. Her pain, along with her fear and anger were suppressed in harsh grunts.

"Dr. Thoms, we're ready for the probe."

A silent, intimidating male doctor (who also wore the pin), appeared with a long metal needle with a soft end attached to it. "We need to provide a little nudge so this delivery can happen quicker."

"Hell no!" Olivia protested. "You'll make the baby kick me again!"

"It's a standard risk," said Dr. Thoms.

Her fear turned to anger and disgust. "You people are sick!!"

Dr. Brown looked at her mockingly. "Well maybe…if you hadn't gone to Antarctica, we would be doing a proper painless caesarean on you a few months from now!"

Olivia looked at the doctor wide-eyed with fear.

"One law of the Guinevere Cult, Agent Dunham…all pain and suffering you obtain is on your OWN terms."

She couldn't feel the probe, thank god. But the worst came in a split second, one small kick was all it took for Olivia to unleash her screams but the screams would not reach further than the halls outside of the operating room.

~*~*~*~

Peter, Walter, and Astrid were forced down on the knees once they were taken outside and around to the back of the hospital. Several more similar security guards joined them pulling out guns.

Peter should've known better. These bastards weren't going to let ANY of them live just for seeing what they saw in the lobby.

~*~*~*~

Olivia had to have reached the peak of pain, because her whole body was now feeling numb as she began to push. The other staff in the room did nothing except stood behind Dr. Brown. "Push harder, bitch!"

She obeyed…only because her hatred and disgust for the red-head doctor was making it easier to. A few more pushes later, Olivia could see the witnesses behind Dr. Brown staring in shock. The look on their faces was one of both fear and disgust. Some were even backing away as if trying to escape from what they were seeing.

One unpinned orderly had the nerve to say it: "What the hell is that?"

Dr. Brown ignored her staff. "I need a bowl!"

Olivia closed her eyes and turned her head away on her final push. A large weight seemed to have departed from her but the searing pain would remain. She wouldn't dare turn to look at the result. The miracle of childbirth had now become one big lie. She couldn't imagine why ANY woman would even dream about having such an experience. There wasn't even an infant cry to follow up.

This made her both curious and filled with dread. She didn't want to, but Olivia would turn her head one more time to look. Dr. Brown had snipped the umbilical cord that binded Olivia to what was now in the bowl she carried.

There was no sound to accompany what Olivia saw…only that her whole body became instantly flushed…her mind stunted, the result of immediate shock that she knew would never go away.

~*~*~*~

They heard sirens getting louder and louder…until they saw several cars pulling in to the back parking lot just feet away from them. SWAT members pulled out of the van and gunned down the security guards. Peter, Walter, and Astrid were left miraculously untouched.

"Dr. Bishop! Agent Farnsworth!"

Broyles was there, in a bulletproof vest, looking down on them.

"Hell," Peter said looking at the chaos all around him. "You called a raid?"

"We've been tracking down a unknown hospital that's been working on people with Pattern-related abnormalities for months. I had no doubt when Agent Francis informed me about this place that I would need to call in a raid."

"Olivia…"

"We'll find her, Peter. You should get Dr. Bishop and Agent Farnsworth to safety. Leave this to us."

Peter got up and dragged his father. The two of them along with Astrid had to walk away from the hospital while the SWAT and FBI members were going in. Peter huffed at the fact that he couldn't go with them…moreso that he was still farther away from getting to Olivia more than ever.

Charlie was the first to storm into the lobby. "Everyone down on the ground!!!"

The hospital staff and the patients began to cower down in fear as heavily armed-agents flood into the building searching all the levels and floors within.

~*~*~*~

Olivia wished that she could have fainted but instead, she was abandoned in her now semi-consciousness and neurotic state of horror.

A pinned doctor rushed into the OR. "It's a raid! They got FBI and SWAT here!"

It was Dr. Thoms who would calmly make the call. "We will not be arrested. Take your cyanide, everyone." A few of the nurses (wearing similar pins) pulled cyanide pills from their pockets and consumed them.

The few unpinned and confused nurses and orderlies watch them slowly die. They thought to run, but Dr. Thoms pulled out his gun and shot them all dead before even one could get out the door.

Dr. Brown freed Olivia's legs from the stirrups placing all of her back on the bed. She backed up a little when she saw that there was a lot of blood dripping from the bed to the floor. Not that Dr. Brown really gave a shit. Getting out of here now was more important.

"What about the baby? She's not ready for transport."

"Willie said to leave her here," said Dr. Thoms. "He can come for her when things calm down."

"Fine." Dr. Brown pulled out her gun and fired at Dr. Thoms. He fell over dead. "I'll come back for the kid myself."

Dr. Brown rushed over to the medicine cabinet swinging open a secret passage. She quietly slipped in and disappeared just seconds before the agents would finally enter.

The scene before them was a total bloodbath. One agent even threw up at the amount of blood on the floor. One of them carefully treaded across the room to get to the ailing woman who was lying on the bed and slowly bleeding away.

"Liv! It's Charlie! Can you hear me?!"

Charlie turned to the other agents. "Get me medical personnel in here…ones that aren't wearing those stupid pins…now!"

Olivia was whimpering…perhaps muttering. She couldn't even look at Charlie even though she knew he was there. She felt too disgusted and ashamed to. But Charlie remained calm. "Liv, you need to hang on! Okay?"

~*~*~*~

Peter was frozen to the spot staring across the parking lot at the hospital. He heard a series of gunshots for a brief amount of time but now that was all finished. Though he hoped so. A lot of other people where watching too.

"Son?"

He didn't turn. Walter carefully approached his son.

"Son…um…" He patted Peter's back. Peter flinched but didn't try to punch his father. That was good, right? "I'm sure Agent Dunham is quite alright. They'll let us be the first ones to see her when it's time, yes?"

Peter sighed. He finally turned to his father and said "sure Walter. We'll get to see her real soon."

~*~*~*~

Broyles knew that not everyone at this hospital was working for the cult. It seemed that the cult took authority of the hospital (their staff mingling with naïve ones who just needed to pay the bills) so that they could do their activities hidden under everyone's noses.

"This hospital is now under criminal investigation," Broyles announced. "No one leaves this facility until they've been questioned about their activities here."

From the rounded up group of doctors, only two wore no pins. They were forced up, along with some unpinned nurses, and taken down to the O.R. that Olivia was in to assist her. A much as Broyles wanted to get Olivia out of this hospital into a real one, he knew that there wouldn't be enough time. This was their only chance to save her and he made the bold decision to trust those he couldn't completely trust after everything he's found in this twisted place.

He saw Charlie stepping out of the room as the staff went in, giving Broyles a very stunned and confused look. "You gotta come and see this."

In the corner of the O.R., on a table was left something that none of the other agents knew was there. Yet there it was...inside a large bowl. A large blue blob…like a human organ, soaked with blood.

Broyles didn't know what terrified him more, the fact that it seemed to be exhaling and inhaling as if it were alive…

…or that attached to its surface was an actual umbilical cord.

"Good God."


	23. The life within the blob

Peter was driven insane…having to wait out there, his feet about to dig into the pavement from all the pacing. It was pitch black out when Broyles finally summoned them into the hospital…the gunfire long ended, various police scouring the facility and dead bodies being taken out.

Broyles' silence made him nervous as if he had seen a ghost. He sighed as he led Peter, Walter, and Astrid down the hall and stopped at a certain room were police tape was blocking the entryway.

"I'm afraid this has turned into something only YOU can explain, Dr. Bishop."

Broyles stepped over the tape into the room…the others followed. Their attention on a table in the corner of the room where the unusual blue blob settled inside a bowl, still breathing like a living organism.

Peter saw the umbilical cord and a huge wave of nausea and other horrid feelings struck him endlessly. He never felt so horrified or disgusted in his life…all these months, this thing was growing inside of Olivia. Those bastards put her through so much hell and pain just so she could give birth to a giant living blob!

He turned his head away and vomited. Of all the disgusting things he had to work with since this all began…nothing made him felt more sick to his stomach.

"Oh my god!" said Astrid. She was making a mental note in her mind to get her tubes tied as soon as she could.

Only Walter did not show any signs of disgust, no surprise there. "It's breathing?" asked Walter.

"We're not sure what it's doing," Broyles explained. "If it's supposed to be human, it could be dying but we needed you to check for sure."

"Or perhaps…" said Walter. "It is not yet been born. Agent Dunham delivered far too early after all. I will say this is quite the miracle of life she has brought into the world. So astounding."

"You can't be serious."

"But I am. I can't wait to bring this back to the lab. If my theory is correct then…"

"Dr. Bishop, we're in a difficult situation right now. We believe they'll be coming back for this, and Agent Dunham's life is still in danger. I'm afraid we can't let this thing off-property until we're done investigating."

Walter pouted. "Oh, fine then. Asperger, we'll have to run back to the lab to retrieve a few things. Peter, you might want to clean up that mess you made on the floor."

Peter didn't listen. He was still feeling icky from throwing up so much. "Where's Olivia?"

"We got some non cult-affiliated doctors treating her in the other wing of the hospital. She was losing a lot of blood."

Peter muttered a damn as he rushed out of the room…relieved to be out of that suffocating sick room but still nauseas and terrified from everything he had seen.

~*~*~*~

He got to the other wing of the hospital and heard a lot of yelling and arguing. Looking in through the doors of one surgery room he saw backing away from their patient who was angrily holding a scalpel at them from the operating table.

One of the doctors was pleading. "Ma'am, please calm down. We need to stop the bleeding."

"Get back!!!" the woman yelled. "Don't you dare touch me!!!"

Not being one to ever follow the rules, Peter stepped into the surgery room. Sure enough, the patient yelling and fending off the doctors was Olivia…only she was far from herself. Her eyes had become completely bloodshot and her hair sweaty and frizzled from the labor. She had turned into a vicious wounded animal that was prepared to hurt anyone who came near, regardless of their helpful intentions.

It was like walking through fire when Peter walked passed the frightened doctors, who did nothing to question his unauthorized entry into the room.

"'Livia?"

She quickly pointed the sharp blade of the scalpel towards the direction of the voice. Peter pushed his hands forward in defense mode. He saw the angered eyes of Olivia melt away into disbelief. Her hold on her weapon of defense was weakening too. She was shaking. "P-P-Peter…is it…r-really you?"

"Yeah," Peter said calm but still nervous. "It's me."

She turned her head slightly back, still unable to accept him there.

"Look down, Liv. You're bleeding really bad." She obeyed him instantly and saw the bottom of her hospital gown and the sheets covering her from the waist down all soaked and stained with her blood.

"These doctors aren't the same ones that did this to you. They're trying to save you, not hurt you. You have to let them help you, okay?"

Her lips were quivering but no words could come out. Peter didn't come closer but instead gave her an assuring smile. "I promise I'll be here with you, Liv…once they fix you."

Slowly, Olivia took the scalpel in her hand and dropped it. She took deep breaths trying to relax every part of her body. The doctors carefully moved forward and Olivia showed no resistance this time around. Peter sulked away allowing the doctors to do what they must to save her.

~*~*~*~

More hours passed for Peter while he in the lobby watching all the agents, officers, and SWAT people sweeping through the hospital, lining up certain individuals for questioning. The ones who were wearing the cult pins were questioned and then taken away. He watched as many of the patients were being escorted out, most likely to be taken to other hospitals.

The chaos was winding down…things were getting quieter.

"Bishop."

He looked to see Broyles giving him a serious stare. It made Peter nervous until he gave him a slight smile and said "Dunham pulled through. They're giving her a private room upstairs, but it's going to take some time for a full recovery."

"Is she going to another hospital?" Peter asked with all sincerity. Another hospital was where she belonged anyway.

"We'll look into possible arrangements, but given the circumstances she might be better off here for the time being. We will, however provide security round-the-clock. No one…no nurse or doctor…gets pass ANY entrance into the building without being searched. I also have multiple guards in that hall guarding Olivia's room as well as the one next door."

"What's next door?" Peter asked.

"It's where we're keeping you-know-what for now."

~*~*~*~

They must have given her drugs because she was now dosing in and out of consciousness. She was also no longer in a cold operating room surrounded by scrubs or metal tools much to her relief. But this new room still felt small and empty. The bed was comfy at least even though her entire body, mainly the waist downward, was still unbelievably sore. At least, she didn't feel herself bleeding anymore.

On a pinch of instinct, she titled her head ever so slightly only for her eyes to catch his. She averted away instantly out of embarrassment…out of sorrow.

"It...it wasn't a dream then…" she spoke, unable to look at him.

Peter said nothing. He could only watch Olivia whose eyes turned to everywhere in the room but him. Her skin became white and pastely. She was lifeless in a way. Despite the fact that she still breathing and was recovering physically, she bore no smile upon seeing him no sign of hope or optimism with his presence here. She wanted to show something…anything. But she felt nothing. She felt dead inside.

He put a hand to her cheek, his thumb wiping away the lone tear that was bearing down. "It's not," he whispered.

"Then that…that really did come out of me?" Her body went into smooth convulsions, like a fast moving tide.

"Hey." Olivia turned her whole body away from Peter, which only made him feel like she had coldly sucker-punch him. As he gently placed a hand on her shoulder, he could feel her convulsions going straight through his arm and into himself. "It's gonna be okay. You made it through…and those people who hurt you…they're dead. It's over now."

After an eerie moment of silence, Olivia responded "No…it's not over. I…I was supposed to give these people a…a baby…I didn't. They'll come back to make me pay…I…I failed them, Peter."

Peter sighed. "No, Liv. If anything…I failed you."

Olivia turned to face him again. She was now looking at him confused but still distraught. "What's that suppose to mean?"

She had to be kidding, right? He was so close to her when they put this thing inside of her…he could've prevented the whole thing from happening to begin with. He was absent the moment Walter gave her the diagnosis and her whole world came crashing down. He was supposed to look after her, be prepared for her at her most enduring and most painful hour, but instead he was busy drinking his ass off from another father and son feud. That one filled him with greater remorse than any horrible crime he ever committed in his life. Worse was that in her state, there seemed to be very little he could do to atone for it.

All Peter could say to her was "I just meant it."

There was no emotion from Olivia…probably would not be any for quite sometime. But her eyes, so blank and traumatized, stared straight into his as if she understood. "I…want to hug you…" she said looking down. "…but it hurts to get up."

When Peter leaned down, the arm he placed gently around her was quite expected, quite welcomed. But then she felt him brush away the tired unkempt strands of her hair which irritated her face so and replaced them with a soft kiss upon her forehead. Though it was far from able to take her suffering away, it was of great comfort to her tired and disturbed state.

"You should get some sleep," said Peter. "Those painkillers they gave you must've been extra drowsy."

"Could've used those drugs during the actual delivery." Peter smirked at her sarcasm even if she could not.

"You want me to give you some time alone?"

Olivia looked down at Peter's hand and grabbed it. "No…please, I…want you to stay."

He smiled as Olivia's eyes slowly fell into slumber. His hand never let go of hers. This time around…he wasn't going to fail her…never again. This time…he wasn't going to leave her.

~*~*~*~

Walter carefully took the blue blob from the bowl and gently placed it into the incubator he requested. Astrid was focused on unpacking the items they went back to the lab for instead of the…thing.

"Walter…" said Astrid. "I think you're treating that blob a bit too much like an actual baby."

"Of course I am," said Walter. "If the umbilical cord is any indication. This is still a human child."

"Really?" said Astrid. "And where exactly are the eyes and mouth on this baby? Where's the face?"

"It's all underneath the surface, my dear."

Astrid looked at Walter as he gently poked the blob with a soft probe. He then used his fetal stethoscope.

"What do you mean 'underneath the surface'?"

"Well it seems," explained Walter. "That fetus was 6 months into development…at this point, the blue plasma has thickened, creating a thick and slicky coating around the fetus. If the birth had not been so premature, the plasma would've hardened and then disintegrated into something that would've resembled ectoplasm. I suppose we'll still be able to see that in a few days."

"A few days? Walter, what are saying?"

"Quite simple, Agent Farnsworth…the blob is not the child. The child is INSIDE of the blob."

"There's an actual living baby inside of there?" Astrid said shaking. "Well don't you think we should like cut the blob open and get it out? I don't think there's an air hole even in there for…"

"Oh good heavens no!" cried Walter. "It is simply not ready. It was born premature. Quite good that much of the umbilical cord is still intact. There should be enough nutrition for the child to sustain itself while it's finishing it's process."

A terrified Astrid asked "what process?!"

"It's much like a process of 'catch-up'. The fetus was taken out of the womb before it was ready, the plasma will conceal the fetus in like a cocoon and speed up its development…oh not by much mind you…far from aging to 80 years in 3 minutes. But it should help enough for the fetus to survive being born too soon. It may take a few days to a week and then we will see it emerge from the thickened plasma."

"Emerge?"

"Yes…like a butterfly. It will be quite a sight. I hope I get to see it happen."

Astrid turned away in disgust. This was by far the most twisted toying with nature she had ever witnessed in action.

~*~*~*~

As Ziegler was still being pursued by the FBI, he was careful as he passed by the heavily guarded medical facility, the one he knew Olivia and the child were in, and into the white van parked across the street. The Mole had been watching the situation playing out as well.

"You missed quite a show," the Mole said greeting his friend. "It's quite a birth to have gunshots and an FBI raid thrown in."

"Yes," said Ziegler sarcastically. "Quite."

"Did you retrieve the device from Dr. Bishop's lab?"

"I barely got out before he returned. Fortunately I know how not to leave my tracks." Ziegler pulled out a small bag containing the contents and gave it to the Mole.

"Well then Ziegler," said the Mole. "All we need now is to get to Agent Dunham and the child, put this thing to work, and then…we will finally have the upper hand."

Ziegler still remained unimpressed. "Will this device really do what it was meant to?"

"It will," the Mole assured him. "Revenge may still be a longs way away my friend, but the best part of the Plan is about to begin."

"When do we get them?" asked Ziegler, referring to Olivia and the baby.

The Mole leaned back against his seat quite calmly and replied, "when the timing is absolutely perfect."

* * *

**_Well guys, this chapter wasn't easy to write but I wanted to get one out before Skate-815 went on vacation._**

**IMPORTANT NOTICE:** _Expect huge slowdowns with updates from this point on. To make a long story short, my family has forced me into vocational school. I will no longer be able to update as frequently as I do during the week. I will however try and update at least one chap on weekends so expect any new updates to this fic to happen in the Fri-Sun slot. I still plan to post that other dark fic I told you guys about. It's still a work in progress at this point. Could premiere as early as next weekend. We shall see._

_With all of this hiatusing that's about to occur, it would've been awful of me to leave you hanging on a downer of a chapter like the last one. So I hope you enjoyed this chapter of Bolivia-goodness. Lata! ;)_


	24. A mole emerges

**_Heh. Heh. I probably forgot to mention (only cause I never know how far into the story certain events happen) that this chapter has MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH! Yeah...aren't I a twisted one? ;) Happy Readings!_**

* * *

She thought it was just a nervous twitch, but it wasn't at all. Her entire body was shaking and Olivia remained unaware as she held onto the fork. The room wasn't even cold either. There was no reason for her entire self to be shaking like this.

Still the fork in her hand didn't move. Her mind was wondering off again, forgetting that Peter was still in the room with her, watching her hesitating to take that first bite of food.

Although she was no longer pregnant, Olivia just could not eat. It was still shaking her up…the fact that she basically been feeding and incubating a large blue blob in her body all that time…

…well, earlier she and Peter were informed by Walter that there was still a baby under that unusual mess of blue skin, but it did nothing to make her feel any better. In fact, Olivia refused to find any truth in Walter's words. But perhaps it was her own pessimism speaking for itself.

"I…" She dropped the fork as a means of surrounding. "I can't eat this."

Peter was a bit disappointed. He sighed as he pulled the hospital food tray away from Olivia's sight. "It's alright," he assured her, even though he really wished that she would eat at least something. He knew that pushing it wouldn't help the situation. "The stuff in this place doesn't look anywhere near as appetizing as kim-chi."

He hoped to shake at least a smirk out of Olivia, but once again Peter had failed. She turned away from him and said without emotion "You said the smell made you puke."

Damn. It was clear that he wasn't going to get anywhere with reaching out to her today. In a way though he couldn't blame her. The blob baby was resting just right next door and she was still stuck in the same hospital that was giving her nightmares in between dozing off. Whenever Peter watched her wake up from one of these, he could tell they were nightmares but Olivia would quickly attempt to brush it off like she often would. Most of the time since he had been in that room with her, she would turn away from him. She would be distant and silent from him even though he was sitting right there. Having to be stuck in that bed with a catheter and a bedpan was making it even worse for her.

"Peter?"

"Yeah?" He leaned over in anticipation, ready to respond to even her smallest request.

"You've been in here for over a day. I think you can go."

"Are you sure, Liv?"

"You and Walter should be moving stuff into your new apartment anyway. I don't want to stop you."

"Well that's good…I was afraid for a minute that you want me to spend the rest of my life trapped in that hotel room with my father."

Again no response, not even a rise in chest or a hiccup from her. Her mind was wondering off and it showed as her own head was twitching…her own head.

"Liv?" Peter gently placed his hand over hers, but apparently he wasn't gentle enough. Olivia immediately responded by turning to her swiping away the arm before she could even realized what she had done. She could've leapt out of bed in response if she hadn't been bedridden. Part of her must've wanted to because her body instantly got sore again from trying to be jumpy.

She looked at him now…fear turning into instant regret. "I'm…sorry," she said in between deep breaths.

Peter was hurt but tried to remain very calm. "You don't need to apologize, Liv. I understand completely."

Olivia tried to look at Peter this time, trying to keep her gaze on him for a little longer. She couldn't help but to turn away. She hated this…she hated being so weak and defeated to the point that she couldn't be as tough as she often was infront of him. Now Olivia felt as though she had become a spiteful being. And damn Peter. How in the world could he possibly be so understanding about all of this? It made no sense to her. She would be punished and ridiculed by anyone else for being such a failure. The Guinevere Cult was already doing so.

Before Peter could ask her again, Olivia quickly answered. "…I'll be fine, Peter."

Peter finally got up. He was feeling sore himself. He must've been sitting in that chair for a longer time than he realized. "I'll come back later tonight then," he said. "I need a shower anyway. I'm starting to smell like Walter on his cleaner days."

Olivia closed her eyes feeling worse about her inability to respond to Peter's whims and sarcasm. She should've been strong enough for that at least. Now she was only making him feel bad. But she just couldn't do it…she just couldn't move her lips or make any facial sign of response.

By the time she opened her eyes again, Peter had already left the room…and possibly out of the hospital. There wasn't even a clock in this empty sad cold excuse of a recovery room to let her know how long it would be before he would come back. She would have to depend on the sunlight coming through the window. Mid-afternoon perhaps. The painkillers were now kicking in again, bringing her both relief from her depression and irritation…but also bringing her fear.

~*~*~*~

"Walter, no!"

"But Peter, it's only my collection of carnivorous plants."

"I don't care, find a place in your bedroom for them. We're not keeping those things anywhere near the kitchen."

Walter protested. "But they might eat me in my sleep."

"That's a risk you should've thought about when you created those plants." The long hours Peter spent at the hospital was making unloading stuff into the new apartment very agitating.

"Son…," Walter asked very cautiously. "Are we still…"

"Still what, fighting?"

"Oh yes…about the…"

"Me being dragged from another world? I'm too tired to care right now." Peter wanted out. He wanted to escape all the hurt that was happening all around him but only time could allow him to do that. He wasn't a very patient man though. "I'm going back to the hospital to see Liv."

Walter watched his son dropped the box he was unloading and grabbed his coat. "Oh…son, you shouldn't feel bad."

"I don't feel bad about being tired, Walter."

"No, I meant you shouldn't feel bad about missing the birth. There's still the hatching to look forward to."

"I don't think either of us are looking forward to that," said Peter…his thoughts straying back to deep remorse how he missed the birth…how he failed to be with Olivia during her greatest suffering. His father's presence woke his mind up. "Why the hell are you talking to me about that for anyway?"

"Oh, I only ask because you've been spending an awful amount of time with her…"

Peter grabbed the doorknob. "Dammit, Walter. Knock it off!" He slammed the door before Walter could put in another word.

Bitter and angry, he stormed the nighttime streets towards the hospital instead of walking. The apartment was in close distance to the facility after all. The streets were awfully quiet. He checked his watch. "Shit." He had lost complete track of time during the whole move-in. It was now 2:30 in the freaking morning. What if the guards wouldn't allow him to visit Olivia this late? Well, to hell with them. He wasn't going to wait till morning to see her again.

But he took his time getting there, as impatient as he was. Too many thoughts were weighing him down forcing him to look at the concrete more than where he was going.

When he looked up again, he found himself instantly stepping back into an alleyway. He had to look again to see what made him respond so quickly. Peter noticed that he was only a couple of blocks away from the hospital. A white van was parked halfway down. Two men stepped out.

One of them, he knew immediately was Harold Ziegler. He was carrying a large duffle bag of sorts. Peter still couldn't get a good view of the other guy, only that he was tall and old looking.

Carefully Peter walked in the shadows away from the streetlights and got closer to the scene. The two men were now entering another alley across the street, and Peter quietly followed.

"I suppose you will be doing it," said Ziegler. "Seeing that the building is storming with FBI. They probably have my face on a flyer in there."

"Agent Dunham and I have met once before," said the other as he took the strange bag from Ziegler's hands. "I will explain the situation calmly to her and she might possibly cooperate."

"I have my doubts about that," said Ziegler. "You might want to take a gun with you."

Peter stepped into the dark alley, hoping to identify the other man without being seen.

"Have the van ready at the back entrance. If anyone from the Cult gets here before we do…then I WILL have use for a gun. And that's when you will have to activate the device."

A sudden clanging noise. Peter wasn't sure if he was the one who caused it.

"Someone's here!" cried Ziegler.

The other man flashed a light at Peter and he grinned. "Peter Bishop…I don't believe my eyes."

Peter was blinded and confused to respond to the man, who seemed VERY familiar…yet he couldn't recall from where.

"Dammit," said Ziegler. "He'll ruin everything!" Ziegler charged at Peter causing the two men to wrestle with each other once more. The feud and confrontations with this man was getting old in Peter's opinion.

"Ziegler!" the other man called. "Take him away from here. Someone else is coming!"

Ziegler grabbed Peter and threw him around the corner of the alley behind an abandoned building, punching him until Peter fell to the ground. Peter was still conscious when he found a rusting pipe of sorts. He picked it up and slammed Ziegler unconscious.

Peter was about to turn back into the alley, ready to go after the other man, when he saw another figure entering. He stepped back to watch once more. It was a woman this time, and she immediately pulled out a gun on the other man forcing him to raise his hands in a form of surrender.

"Evening, Emmeline," the man greeted calmly. "I must say that I am not pleased with the way you treated Agent Dunham when you delivered the child, and neither will Guinevere…"

"Quiet!" she said. "Don't you dare talk about Guinevere like that, you traitor! You never cared about the cult at all! All this time you acted like an advisor to her…you told her to use a Cortexiphan soldier to carry the child but now I see right through you!"

"I never lied about their usefulness."

"But you lied about their purpose, didn't you? You didn't create them to protect Guinevere. You're using them to destroy her…and you were planning to steal the child to ensure you win. Tell me the truth. You ARE the Mole, Dr. William Bell!"

Peter froze. Did that woman just called him…Bell? William Bell? It couldn't be this was all hurting his brain. How in the world did William Bell become involved in all of this?!

"I am exactly what you have discovered," Bell confessed. "I was arranging to retrieve Agent Dunham and the child to take them to a safe location. I have also ensured that the cult does not interfere so that we may prepare for the destruction of the other world."

Emmeline angrily held a tighter grip on her gun. "How dare you…I won't let you!"

William Bell began to wrestle with the woman hoping to get the gun out of her hands. Peter was unsure as to whether or not to intervene. It was all too confusing…too shocking. He didn't know who to trust.

It was too late to make a choice. He heard a gunshot.

William Bell fell over. Emmeline was looking down at him putting the gun back in her pants and taking the strange duffle bag from the ground.

"Once I tell Guinevere of your treacherous deeds…she will have no choice to but approve the destruction and conquest of this world." She then disappeared back into the streets.

Peter ran over to the ailing man's side. Bell was still breathing, but it would not last. Peter knew this as he watched blood spew out of the bullet wound in Bell's chest. The man was looking at him now…with both greeting and sadness.

"You gotta be kidding me," Peter said to him. "You're William Bell?"

Bell nodded. "'ell 'er…"

"Huh?" Peter leaned in to listen more closely. Bell was coughing up blood. "Tell…Miss Dunham…Tell Wal-ter…that I'm…sorry."

Bell coughed again…the last exhale of life.

Peter just stood there, over Bell's dead body confounded…

"SHIT!"

He ran out of the alley and ran down the street…searching for the woman as he kept moving.

It finally registered in Peter's mind that she was heading towards the hospital. For now, all the shock of Bell's death and involvement would have to be put on hold. That woman, who killed Bell in cold blood, was part of the cult…

…now she would go after the child…after Olivia.

He ran blindly faster knowing this time…failure wasn't an option.

He had to get to Olivia first.

* * *

_**Come on, people. Just admit that you like these character twists and cliffhangers so much :)...I do what I can to annoy my readers anyway.**_

_**I guess I will be doing my updates in intervals. Update to "Growing Up in the Dark" should occur around Sunday-ish. Toodles.**_


	25. and now they come

**_Wuh-oh...a whole week without an update?! Man are things starting to get slow now. Dont blame me. It's school. AND I've been in a crazed Harry Potter mood since we're getting so close to the next film coming out. I won't be able to escape such a mood until after I see this movie dammit! So yeah...updates will continue to be slow. _**

* * *

The streets were dark and empty giving Emmeline her advantage. The only souls around were all inside of St. Genevieve's…mostly guards but not too many. Only four of them were in the lobby...

...which made it all the more easier for Emmeline when she pulled out her ray gun and swiftly executed them all without warning.

Peter snuck into the entrance as he watched her killed the last guard. He dove behind the receptionist desk so that Emmeline could not see him watching her as she pulled small device, one resembling a pipe bomb, out of her coat. She was standing on a chair in the lobby opening up one of the air conditioning vents.

A moment later, there was a hissing sound as Emmeline put on a gas mask. Peter covered his mouth immediately knowing what was coming. He then watched her activate a security device. The lights in the lobby began to dim and a clicking noise came from the hospital doors. Whatever Emmeline was unleashing through the hospital, she wasn't going to let anyone escape from it.

Peter tried to get up to follow but the white foggy substance seeping through the vents was making him dizzy. He feared it to be poison. But he wasn't feeling any pain, only sleepiness.

Emmeline had already disappeared down the hall by the time Peter had strength to get up again. He got to the main hall (finding more unconscious and dead guards) and went straight for the stairwell on the left…the only way in and out of the isolated hospital wing Olivia was resting in.

He heard a bang. At the entrance of the stairwell, Emmeline had killed one guard and was stabbing another with a syringe filled with a golden colored syrup.

Before Peter could reach out to kill her…Emmeline slammed the door on him locking him out of the corridor. Through the door window, Peter watched as the guard she injected fell to the ground dead

"HEY!" Peter banged on the door. Emmeline then pulled off her gas mask revealing a cold vicious smirk on her face. There was no sleeping gas on her side of the door. Much to Peter's relief, it meant that the sleeping gas wouldn't reach Olivia.

However, Peter was slowly starting to feel the gas on his side. He kept banging on the door determined to fight it. Emmeline pulled out another large syrup-filled syringe, and waved it mockingly at Peter through the window. Her cold vicious smirk had now turned into the most malicious grin Peter had ever saw, sending chills down his spine. She then proceeded up the stairs with her evil smile intact.

Peter was getting dizzy, and was slowly slipping to the ground as he desperately pulled on the door handle that wouldn't budge. "Olivia!"

It was hopeless to think that he would be able to warn her all the way from here. But there was no more he could do…

"OLIVIA!!!"

~*~*~*~

It was strange how she could still feel herself being torn in two, amidst the doctors who were looking down at her, practically spitting their insults and disgust at her. The slight of the blue blob was still imprinted in her mind. Her focus came back at what sounded like the call of her name. She had to be dreaming though.

Then, Olivia realized that she had not gotten up at all. She was still sitting up in her bed. That's when she began to cry. She no longer had to be awake to see the twisted birth flash before her eyes. She felt less ashamed about crying knowing that Peter was not here. Every moment, every sight, every feeling was still in her mind consuming her thoughts even when she was wide-awake.

She had not seen that blob since her first glance. That was the one thing that would haunt her more than anything and knowing that it was lying next door. Even if the cult came to claim it, how was she going to go on with herself…knowing that her mind as well as her body seemed to be no more her own? One sight of that blob and she would regret that the birth did not do enough to kill her. It could've easily killed anyone else. She was just the unlucky one. That was the one thing she couldn't tell Peter of all people.

But eventually time would pass and she would have to move on. There were probably more horrible and terrifying things to experience and see out there…each case topping the previous one. She was never allowed to feel weak…even while recovering in a hospital room. She was never given that choice.

Carefully, Olivia reached over and slowly pulled out the catheter tube from her body…as well as the IV needles. It hurt like hell, but at same time, it was a bit relieving to not have those things stuck inside of her. She then swung her legs over until they were off the bed. Every muscle was sore but Olivia had to convince herself that it was just bedridden soreness. The coldness she felt as her feet touch the floor was nothing compared to feeling the stitch work that was done inside of her. It was far too soon to be getting out of bed but she couldn't take the lying down anymore. Her steps were very small. She could only advance a few inches without feeling incredible pain. Mentally, she would fight it off with every step she took closer and closer to the door.

Looking around the hall, she was surprised to find that the two agents who were supposed to be on patrol were nowhere to be found. She was only going next door anyway.

There was no time to breathe as she pushed her way into the small room. The ceiling light was dimly flashing revealing the incubator tucked away in the corner of the room…still running for what was resting inside of it.

Olivia couldn't believe that she was doing this but she felt it was the only way. This was how many people got over their fears, wasn't it…by facing the fear head on?

The blob was as she thought it was, alive and breathing…even rocking a little bit from side to side as if it really were a…

She was now looking down at the thing. The surface of the blob wasn't glistening as it first was. Gently, she laid a finger on its delicate surface. It was now tougher but still soft, like the skin on a fruit…almost like a plum. Above the umbilical cord, she could see a small crack amidst the layers of odd blue skin. It almost looked like an opening that was slowly peeling away. It never occurred to her how this thing was able to breathe. She was still in denial about the possibility of a real baby located beneath all of that.

She took one finger, just one, to the opening. It felt more soft and squishy as she felt the opening. The feeling of nausea and discomfort consumed her so much; she didn't realize for a moment that her curious finger descended into the opening…

…until she felt something. She tried to slowly pull her finger out but it wouldn't move. Something within was grasping it. As soon as she started to feel whatever it was tugging her finger, trying to pull it close inside, Olivia pulled it out with all her might.

She couldn't exactly pin point what it was the grabbed her. Her thoughts were in a frenzy and then, the blob began to…well, Olivia didn't know how to describe it. It wasn't only rocking back and forth more violently, rapidly moving about. The opening in the blob was slightly tearing…getting bigger as well. That was enough to make Olivia turned away from the intense sight…

…only to see a familiar curly red-headed doctor standing before her, the one who forced the thing out of her. The one they were calling 'Dr. Brown'.

"Ghastly, isn't it?" she smirked as she slowly put down the strange duffle bag she carried. "With any luck, perhaps she might come out normal without a problem or deformity whatsoever. Not that it'll help you in any way. I still plan to kill you."

Olivia couldn't move…couldn't speak but she found herself slowly her fists without thought as Emmeline approached her.

"I also take it that your injuries are too severe for you to ever have children again, am I right? Well, no matter…you'll always have this one experience to look back on."

From the corner of her eye, Olivia could see an IV hanger the same time she saw Emmeline pull out a large syringe.

At the right moment, Olivia made her move…grabbing the hanger and striking Emmeline. She didn't even care for the pain of that quick sudden movement. Seeing that redheaded bitch fall to ground, was giving Olivia a restored adrenaline rush.

But Emmeline was still conscious. She lunged at Olivia's legs, trying to pull her down to the floor. Olivia kicked her in the face but she ended up toppling backwards to the floor anyway screaming in pain.

This fight wasn't over yet. A bloody faced Emmeline pushed herself up and attempted to lunge at Olivia once more…but Olivia lifted her foot to stop her…grabbed onto her shoulders and butted her head as much as she could.

Her leg gave way under all the stress and pain she was still enduring however, and Emmeline knew it as she fell on top of Olivia. Olivia tried to grab her hair…

But Emmeline grasped her neck first. The one hand was strong, crushing Olivia of air as Emmeline, swiftly pulled out the syringe. Olivia could no longer kick with all the weight crushing her.

The needle was aimed at her when a strong force struck Emmeline on her side, kicking her off of Olivia. The syringe flew out of her hands as Emmeline began to throw punches at her mysterious attacker.

But the attacker wasn't mysterious at all…

…it was Peter.

Olivia was still struggling to get up, but the other two in the room were both already back on their feet again, wrestling one another. Emmeline kicked Peter back against a wall, quickly pulled out her ray gun, and fired.

The thing struck Peter in the leg and he gave out a cry of pain that made Olivia speechless.

Realizing that she had missed, Emmeline aimed her gun, only to feel a sharp stabbing pain…and an arm wrapped around her neck. The pain of the needle didn't hurt nearly as much as burning pain of the poisonous liquid that was injected into the doctor's bloodstream.

But Olivia didn't care. She stabbed the needle harder into Emmeline's flesh…making her want to scream like Olivia did in the operating room. She tightened her grasp around the doctor's neck, making any possible scream of pain inaudible.

The doctor was long dead when Olivia yanked the needle out of her. But she couldn't help herself…she stabbed the dead woman hard with the needle once more. She was frustrated that there wasn't much blood spewing out, so she kept stabbing…and stabbing…and stabbing…

"Liv, stop it! She's already dead!"

A very weak Peter grip Olivia by the shoulders and pulled her back. Olivia was too sore and too exhausted to fight as she was pull into his arms. The rage was still consuming her as she breathed heavily against his chest.

She stopped when she heard something…Peter heard it too. All eyes turned to the incubator.

The blob was rocking and shaking more violently than before.

Both were amazed that neither of them threw up when they saw it…

…a tiny hand, emerging from the small opening of the thing…

…the blue skin was peeling away, falling apart more rapidly.

Olivia held her grip on Peter with much force than ever before. They were immobile stuck to the ground when the sound came, a sound that was too unreal, even in any hospital.

More of the blue skin peeled away, and from the layers emerged an infant's head...giving a surreal cry. Legs and arms were shoving away more of the blue covering. The strange peelings seem to collapse like gelatin. Olivia wanted to back away as she saw the last blue layers peel off but she had nowhere to go. Her eyes could not help but stare.

The blob was no more…

…a baby, an actual baby, had taken its place as if it had been hatched from an egg. The umbilical cord still remained intact and instead of blood, a strange blue gooey substance covered the baby's skin…almost like ectoplasm.

Still, neither Olivia nor Peter made a move. Nothing moved in that room at the moment except for the child in the incubator. The child's wail echoed the room, silencing the two souls who couldn't turn their disbelieving eyes away.

* * *

**_Vengeful Kickass Olivia!!! You know you miss her...admit it with a lovely review! ;)_**


	26. Lonely burden

**_Here's a longy to reward your patience while I am writhe of sickness, bleh._**

* * *

"Hold on, I think he's waking up."

The darkness was pushed aside only to be replaced by the unusually close faces of Astrid and Walter.

"Oh, my boy! You're alive!" Walter leapt over the bed reaching his arms out to his son…who only screamed. "Ah! Back off, Walter!" He was trapped…and in pain, like someone had both burned him and drilled through him in the same spot. Peter looked down and saw his tight was purple and gray with a small green spot. Various wires seemed to be connected to it.

That's when Peter also realized he was lying in a hospital bed in nothing but a patient gown. "The hell?" Peter moaned. "What happened?"

"You were shot," said Astrid. "Apparently by some form of ray gun. We were scared that you were gonna get radiation poisoning or something but since your hair didn't fall out on the way over here, it looks like you'll live."

The events of the night before were slowly catching up to Peter but he was still confused. "Wha? Here? Where's here?"

"Boston General Hospital. They transferred you and Olivia…"

"'Liv's here? Where is she? Is she okay?!"

Peter was getting very antsy and tried to tug at the wires on his leg. He did not do hospital stays. Astrid was agitated that Peter wasn't calming down. "Relax, she's fine. She's upstairs in the maternity ward. As far as we know, she's a surrogate mom who gave birth on the way over…or at least, that's somewhat the cover story Broyles wants us to use just in case."

He fell back against the bed in a sigh. Seeing the baby had to be the most disturbing of events from the night before but having his father here reminded him of something else that happened. "Walter, there's something I have to tell you…"

There was a knocking at the door and Broyles entered the room. He looked at Peter intensely and nodded. "I know what happened, Peter," said Broyles. "We found his body in an alleyway a few blocks from St. Genevieve's. Do you want to tell him or…"

Peter waved his hand. "Nah…better if you tell him. I'm having difficulty gathering my memories together."

"Oh?" Walter turned to Broyles. "Is this about the body? Is it worth examining?"

"Dr. Bishop," Broyles said in a calm manner. "We found William Bell's body in an alley. He was murdered…"

Walter stared out into space. Shock and sadness written all over his face. Astrid led him to one of the visitor chairs to sit down.

Peter couldn't help but feel a little sorry for his father at that moment. "I…I saw the whole thing, Walter. That woman who tried to kill Olivia…she killed him, there was nothing I could've done without getting killed myself…I'm sorry."

Walter looked up and gave his son a sad smile. "Well…you were a good boy for not getting yourself killed. I am proud of you." He sighed. "But I don't understand what poor Belly was doing there? Perhaps he got lost on his way to the lab or…?"

"Walter," said Peter. "He was involved in the whole scheme. He was working with Harold Ziegler."

"Did you say Ziegler?" asked Broyles.

"Yeah I saw the two of them in that alley talking to each other…" The memory struck Peter right then. "And then…Ziegler dragged me away…I knocked him unconscious…"

"We didn't find anymore bodies in that area other than Bell's. He must've woken up and ran off before we got there."

Peter muttered under his breath. "Sh*t".

"We'll double the search for him now. I got to talk to a few people and get some answers. It looks like there's been much more to William Bell than we thought we knew."

As Broyles walked out the door, Peter said to no one in particular "heh. Who wants to bet that Nina Sharp's one of them?"

~*~*~*~

Olivia had been awake and aware that she was transferred to a new hospital for quite some time. But sleeping would have done her no good. Instead she just lied there waiting for anything to happen and tried to focus her sense on the sunlight coming through the shades or the noises in the hallways. Anything that we keep her focus away from any flashes or dreams.

The door to her room opened. From outside she could see that security had increased. There were more agents than ever roaming the halls outside her room. It made her feel a little relieved but more agitated.

A nurse had stepped into the room. Her hair was curly and pulled up in a similar manner like Dr. Brown's. It nearly gave her a heart attack until the nurse turned to face her. This woman had dark brown hair and skin. Clearly was a different woman. Olivia would've been able to breathe again if not for the thing that the nurse was wheeling into the room with her.

"Look who's here?" said the nurse in a very cheery tone. She pulled into the room with her a large incubator…with the baby inside. Olivia averted her eyes away as the incubator was wheeled over and placed a few feet away from the bed. "Normally we keep the preemies in a special care room but I was told that this was a special…confidential case."

Her cheeriness was starting to get on Olivia's nerves. "Don't worry," the nurse winked. "Your secret's safe with me."

The baby was practically in reach now but Olivia had no interest in touching it…let alone look at it. She only got glimpses of the pink cotton fabric it was wrapped in. Probably a girl…of course, it had to be a girl…it's a freakin' clone!

One thing still worried Olivia, it had been bothering her ever since she had that nightmare in Antarctica and now she was too scared to even reconsider it. "Is she…" asked Olivia. "Um…did she…come out okay? She doesn't have any…weird deformities or anything?"

She recoiled at the horrible way she asked that question.

"Oh…" the nurse looked over at the baby. "Well, I see ten fingers and ten toes. That is about as normal as they come. Though I must say that the doctors and I are REALLY impressed. She's only about 26 weeks old, and just little over two pounds…but we checked her vital organs and they seem to be functioning for her without any problems. That's incredibly rare! A medical marvel if you ask me. We've never seen a preemie this young do so well."

Olivia scoffed and thought _'being in the blue blob must've helped after all'_.

"So…I've been told that you're a surrogate mother? I wonder why the adoptive parents haven't shown up yet."

"Oh," said Olivia. "Well you know…I guess they weren't expecting the baby to come so soon. They're supposed to be on vacation in…Russia but you know how hard it is to get a flight back here with the weather over there. They're still stranded in the airport."

"Aww. That's too bad," said the nurse. Olivia couldn't believe how well she was able to fool her even while under the effects of several painkillers. She almost thought it was her head making that whiny noise.

"Oh my," said the nurse. "She hasn't had anything to eat yet. You will be nursing her?"

"I don't think I should. I mean, she's not really mine…"

"Oh, I'm sure the adoptive parents wouldn't mind at all. Breastfeeding is known for helping preemies recover faster. They would be thanking you."

Olivia doubted the cult would thank her for anything she did or has done. She wasn't even sure if she was supposed to take any part in nursing the baby. Well, if they wanted their little clone to be close to perfect, perhaps this would be the best way to go. So she sighed and said, "I'll try it then."

The nurse more than happily took the baby out of the incubator and carefully handed over to Olivia as she pulled open the top of her hospital gown exposing her breasts. She didn't even realized how swollen and engorged they gotten until now and she swore it must've happened overnight…to match the timing with the baby shedding the blob skin. Holding the baby to her was simple enough. Her focus was more on how skinny the baby was though. She had incredibly skinny limbs…normal for a preemie she supposed. The baby was far from the chubby kind often found in art. Aside from the face and limbs, the baby in her arms was pretty much a small pinkish blob in itself, with a small tussle of dark hair.

She realized that the baby girl had been suckling at her all while Olivia was looking her over. Oddly enough, Olivia was not feeling a thing…it wasn't right. Her maternal instinct, the one that she often showed in the past, just simply wasn't there…for a baby of all things! It wasn't just the lack of genetic connection she had with someone who looked more like a small bug-eyed creature than a human child. It was the whole experience that broke it. _'It's for the best,'_ she thought. She didn't know when they would try to come for her again…but deep down she wished they would soon.

"Oh," the nurse had been looking over the baby. Her eyes widened with realization. "I didn't notice that before."

Olivia became alarmed as she noticed the nurse was focusing on one side of the baby's head. "What? What is it?"

"Her left ear," said the nurse. "It's half gone."

Olivia turned the baby's head slightly and sure enough there was a lack of ear compared to the other one. Not only was this ear only half of a real one…it was awkwardly curled in.

"Oh, but I wouldn't worry," the nurse said cheerful once again. "Microtia is a common ear deformity that can easily be fixed with surgery."

"Yeah," Olivia said. "I suppose." She knew how ridiculous it would be…to get worked up over one little ear. Yet it couldn't be helped. All Olivia could think about was how THEY were expecting a perfect child from her. She couldn't even give them that. _'It's nothing,'_ she kept thinking to herself. _'It's just…an ear. It's fixable.'_

As long as the nurse was still in the room, Olivia had to pretend to pull herself together because it was pointless to actually try.

~*~*~*~

A portal to the other reality had opened in an abandoned pier near Boston. But he was ready. They were trying to get through but Ziegler was already firing his guns at them. He smirked when he found his bullets were going through successfully striking his targets on the other side. He spotted their machine in the other world and blasted as many bullets into it as possible.

With very little time left. Ziegler activated the remote that he possessed and the portal closed.

He had been successful. Those cultists weren't going to get through. It would take years for them to repair their portal opener.

And as long as no one on this side tried to open it up again, Ziegler would finally get his revenge…and Bell's plan would finally see promise.

~*~*~*~

St. Genevieve's would not be the only hospital that was hiding some twisted illegal activity. During that week more and more private care facilities were raided. But only a handful of doctors affiliated with the Guinevere Cult were found and arrested before they could kill themselves.

Broyles had been looking over some files and found a disturbing pattern, a connection that brought the incidences together with the cases he was in charge of investigating.

"Fancy seeing you here," said Olivia as she saw Broyles walk into her hospital room.

"It's been a hectic week. Don't think that I forgot that you were thrown in the middle of this entire mess." He got out the files that he carried with him and handed them over to Olivia. "We've discovered more facilities similar to St. Genevieve's in surrounding areas. Have you noticed the pattern these places all share?"

Olivia put her gifts to work looking through the files and maps. It didn't take her long to figure it out, as Broyles predicted. "The portals, the hospitals…pattern activities are all mapped out the same."

"Similar locations," said Broyles. "I still can't believe that William Bell could've been involved in all of this."

"I saw him…" said Olivia. "I saw him at St. Genevieve's when I went into labor. I thought I was hallucinating then…"

"I've been trying to contact Nina since Bell's death but no one knows where she is right now."

"Well," Olivia said. "Maybe she went over to her office in the other reality."

Broyles chuckled. "I'm glad to see you haven't lost your sarcasm, Dunham."

Olivia shrugged. "So…what happens now?"

"No new word from the cult. All the suspects we've captured did not have any personal connections with the cult that Emmeline Brown did. So we have no clues as to their next move or if they plan to come for their clone again."

Olivia blankly looked over at the baby, who was fast asleep in the incubator. "Well, we can't all stay in here forever waiting."

"Indeed. You are getting better, Dunham. We'll have to figure out a way to get you some sort of witness protection without sending you off. We'll look into a possible foster home for the child…add some security just in case. I better get back. Good day to you."

"Broyles…wait!"

He stopped his walk to the door and looked back at Olivia. She seemed to be perspiring over the thoughts and concerns that were overwhelming her. "Something wrong?"

Olivia shook her head. "I don't think any of this is going to work," said Olivia. "When these cult people come, they're going to kill ANYONE who crosses their path. You already lost six agents who were only there to protect me. If you get a foster home involved, innocent people…children…could get killed. I don't want it to go that far, not for my sake. We have to keep as many people out of this as possible."

She looked over at the baby and Broyles immediately caught on before he could even ask. "Dunham, you can't be suggesting…"

"That I keep her with me?" said Olivia. "Believe me if I don't enjoy the idea anymore than you do. But I'm already a marked woman, sir. I'm willing to accept my fate more than allow anyone else to die. Peter's in a hospital bed because of me…William Bell is dead. I don't think I'd be able to take anymore…"

Broyles sighed. "Dunham, don't think for a second that any of this is your fault."

"I know," she said unsure of her own words. "I know…but I don't think we have any other choice. Not unless you want more people to die."

"Be that as it may," said Broyles. "I will still make arrangements to ensure your own safety if you plan on doing this."

Olivia sighed. "Well, if we're lucky…maybe this will only last for a few more days…"

"If we're lucky," said Broyles. He knew deep down that a few more days could turn into weeks, months even. "Until then…I'm still counting this as your maternity leave."

~*~*~*~

Peter's head had been pounding like mad along with his frustrations. They were still keeping him in this damn hospital...over a small flesh wound. The drugs they gave him only increased his headaches as someone was knocking on the door to his room. Knowing that he sent his father out of the room hours ago to go on a useless errand to leave him alone, Peter chimed. "Go away, Walter!"

"It's not Walter."

Peter rose up from the bed and look to the door. Olivia was being pushed in a wheelchair by one of the agents to Peter's bedside. She signaled the guard to give her five minutes and he stepped out of the room to give them privacy.

"You okay?" she asked Peter.

"Never better," he lied. "You?"

"I'm okay…for now anyway. I've been getting physical therapy though it still hurts to move around but they said I could go home as early as tonight."

"Tonight?" Peter sighed. "I get a small shot to the leg and they're keeping me in here longer than you? That's completely unfair!"

Olivia shrugged.

"Well, Astrid's taking Walter to Bell's funeral this afternoon. Who's going to release you?"

"Don't know. I'll probably just take a cab. I know I could contact Rachel, but…I think I need the time alone."

"I don't like the sound of that, Liv," Peter said suspiciously. "Is there something else going on?"

Olivia took a deep breath and said "I'm keeping the baby with me…just until this whole thing ends."

"And just exactly how much thought did you put into this?" asked Peter.

"Well thinking about how many times you and your father almost died for me since I became pregnant…that was enough for me."

Peter was left speechless.

"It's my burden to deal with, Peter. Not yours, not anyone else's. I don't want you to worry…"

"Well you just made it ten times difficult now. Did you even think about what that blob…baby…whatever, put you through?"

"I'm still recalling every second of my labor while I'm wide awake," said Olivia. "So yeah, I have. This is the only way, Peter. I won't let anyone else get hurt or killed for me. It's for the best."

The guard walked in to wheel Olivia away. "Liv…the moment they let me out of this place, I'm coming to see you…okay?"

She quietly nodded back. "Okay."

~*~*~*~

The baby was now independent from her incubator, a sure sign that Olivia's time in the hospital was running out.

"Agent Dunham." Olivia looked up and saw one of the guards carrying a large shopping bag. "They found someone to escort you home in half an hour. They brought a bag of clothing for you."

Olivia was very confused as she took the bag from the guard. "Um…thanks. I'll be ready by then…"

She was left to change into the clothes. They resembled her pantsuits in a way, only they were a little more high class. They were completely new clothes, which made her all the more confused. Peter was still in the hospital. Astrid and Walter were at the funeral. Broyles and Charlie have too much work on their hands to squeeze any time out for this one little thing. Who could possibly be doing this for her?

…unless it was a trap. Olivia didn't think she could take anymore of those.

When the time came, the cheerful nurse put the baby in Olivia's arms and gave them a friendly wave goodbye as the guard wheeled her into the elevator. Olivia could feel relief flowing through her that she would be leaving hospitals behind her…for which she hoped would be a VERY long time.

Her relief turned to suspicion when they got to the first floor lobby. The guard seemed to know what he was doing as she was being wheeled to a side entrance. Her brain was telling her to protest this and demand to know what was going on. But that all changed when she saw the long black limousine outside.

The guard opened the door to reveal Nina Sharp, sitting there quiet calm and relaxed. "Now, now Agent Dunham. There's no need to thank me," she greeted with a smile. "But expect this to be a long ride home for you."


	27. Day one

She couldn't resist being assisted into the limo. The soreness in her body was minimal as she took a seat in one of the cozy cushions, but there was still pain in plenty of areas in her body. By the time the limo driver was instructed to begin his slow drive, there would be no going back.

"So this must be little Gwen." Nina looked at the child in Olivia's arms with both surprise and intrigue. "She came out really well." Olivia rolled her eyes at Nina's comparison of the baby to a science experiment. Then, again it wasn't all that far from the truth.

"Um…do you want to hold her?" She felt disgusted to even suggest it to this woman of all people but her arms were so sore from holding the little tyke, she needed some form of break.

"Oh, just one thing first." From her briefcase, Nina pulled out a sheet of cardboard paper and a couple of towelettes. She motioned for Olivia to bring the baby closer. To her surprise, instead of picking up the baby, she used the towelettes in her hands to wipes the little girl's feet. Then she took the cardboard paper and gently pressed the baby's foot against it. "What…what are you doing?" Olivia asked nervously, almost shaking the child in her arms.

"Merely collecting some information for analysis," said Nina as she finished with the baby's other foot. "Do you mind if I do the hands as well? You may help yourself to some brandy if you like."

Despite the concerns in the back of her mind, Olivia found herself handing the baby to Nina. "I think I'll pass on the brandy."

After getting handprints of the baby on the cardboard, Nina pulled out a small medical swab. "Open," Nina said as she carefully placed the soft end of the swab on the baby's lips. It was a very tense moment when Olivia looked over and Nina was inserting with the swab in the child's mouth, fiddling with it a little. The baby gave a slight whine with the strange object in her mouth, which only increased the tension. But by that time, Nina pulled the swab out and stored it in a test tube. "Very good," Nina said in her most sweet maternal voice. "That's a good little girl you are."

She handed the baby back to Olivia who only looked at the ebony-dressed woman with suspicion. "How was Bell's funeral?"

"Depressing," said Nina. "And dull, rightfully so. Dr. Bishop couldn't keep his eulogy together without putting everyone else at the service to sleep."

She turned to the window and gave a deep sigh, lamenting on the passing of her old comrade. "I deeply regret that this has not been a pleasant experience for you. William's involvement only having complicated matters for the both of us."

"Both of us?"

"Well, apparently you were not the only one who was left in the dark here, Agent Dunham. It was quite terrifying for me to wake up at 3 in the morning to find one of FBI's most wanted at my doorstep…informing me that the head of Massive Dynamic was murdered."

"Ziegler?" Olivia assumed. "It was Harold Ziegler wasn't it?"

"Yes it was," said Nina. "Of course he managed to slip away from my guards after giving me this note." She handed the piece of paper to Olivia.

_Nina,_

_You will have to forgive me for everything that I am about to tell you. First off, do not be alarmed by Ziegler. He has been assisting me with everything that has happened and rest assured he has right to hate the Guinevere Cult more than any of us. His wife had volunteered to be a carrier of a clone but suffered complications, which lead to the child's stillbirth. They murdered his wife and Ziegler has been secretly siding with me to seek vengeance. Yes, you have heard right. I had no intention of being a part of their ways. I had no intention of using any of my Cortexiphan soldiers (Dunham, especially) to assist them but to attack them. She made me a trustworthy advisor and I had to fool both sides in order to make my part more convincing. Forgive me for having deceived you all this time. They would have no reason of suspecting me for treason if Guinevere was convinced that you and I were on opposing sides on this matter._

_If you have received this letter then I am dead and the plans I arranged to ensure conquest and destruction of the cult has failed. If by any chance or luck, that Agent Dunham and/or the child are still in our world, I request that they be looked after. Everything will rest with Ziegler to finish the cult though how this will happen now and when, I cannot say or determine._

_You've been a devoted associate, Nina. Please forgive me for your troubles. I will miss you._

_William_

While Olivia was reading the letter in absolute shock while Nina pulled out a small piece of paper from her briefcase and was writing. "Your meeting with Bell in the other reality was seen by Guinevere. I had no idea it would happen. She absolutely insisted on having you be the carrier and William for his part had no choice but to go along with it. We were all swept into this mess in one form or another whether or not you choose to believe it"

Olivia bitterly gave the letter back to Nina and in turn she gave her a small card. It was a greeting card with a cute little fluffy bunny on the front holding balloons. Written in lovely kid-like writing was _'IT'S A GIRL'_.

"What is this?" Olivia said sneering at the card. When she opened it her eyes went wide. It was blank on the inside with the exception of a check that Nina just wrote…a check for $250,000…pay to Olivia Dunham.

"That," Nina said pointing to the check. "…is a rare example of me following the orders of my bosses. And yes, I do have bosses…or now in this case HAD one."

"And you expect me to take this money without giving you anything in return?"

"Well I think the card indicates that it IS a gift. And you can't expect me to believe that Broyles is paying you well…not enough for a single mother to raise a child on her own at any rate."

Olivia was rightfully terrified at Nina's assumption. "Wait…you think I'm? But they're coming for the baby aren't they? It'll only be a matter of days…weeks…I'm not keeping her permanently."

"Well, you never know, dear." Nina poured herself a glass of brandy for herself. "They might come for her tomorrow or they could be having difficulties where they won't be able to come for another couple of years. I don't know when they will come. It would be easier for me too if I knew. In the meantime, the best I can do for you is to make the situation for you as convenient as possible."

"Don't you dare talk to me about convenience!!!"

Nina nearly swished back the brandy in her hand at the shock of Olivia snapping at her. She placed her hand gracefully over her heart. "Oh my, Agent Dunham," she said in a calm giggly manner. "Well, I'm surprised you haven't snapped at me like this sooner."

Olivia took a deep breath and unapologetically spoke, "I'm not being her mother. I'm keeping her from getting other people killed." Her eyes took a quick glance at the baby in her arms but immediately turned away. "I just want this to be over with even it if means they'll kill me. And no…I don't want protection by any of your people!"

Nina looked at her calmly. "If you say so. But please, Agent Dunham. I don't William to think that I've let him down in death. Whether or not you trust me, you must allow me to help you…even if you need the use of my high authority or just a small matter in dealing with the baby, I can provide the assistance. I would hold onto the check in any case."

Despite having already pocketed the check, Olivia silently vowed that she would have no use for it. "I know I didn't make any arrangements to actually bring a baby home from the hospital, but I think I can manage without your help, thank you."

"That is no problem," Nina said gleefully.

At this point, the limo was driving down Olivia's street. Looking out the window Olivia was surprised to find a small furniture truck parked right outside her doorway and men in uniform walking out of her apartment.

"What are they doing in my apartment?!"

"Well, considering that your decision to keep the baby in your care was VERY last minute. I had all the necessaries made ready for you on your arrival home so you wouldn't have to worry about seeking them out."

Olivia turned to Nina. But how did she…

"News travels fast in my circle, Agent Dunham."

The furniture truck finished its duties and departed the moment the limo pulled up infront of Olivia's door. The driver stopped the car and went around the open the door for Olivia escorting her out. "I'll be taking the footprints and the DNA samples back to Massive Dynamic for analysis so we can confirm that the baby is an exact clone copy of Guinevere. In the meantime, take care."

That was the last Olivia would see of Nina as the door was shut and the limo pulled away. Olivia quietly went up the steps to her apartment with the baby in one arm and slowly opened the door.

There were really no significant changes to be noticed despite the fact that strangers were just in here upon her absence. On her kitchen table were a few boxes, containing mostly bottles and baby formula. Packages of diapers were piled up against a wall.

She was almost scared to death of going into her bedroom that she had to take a deep breath and close her eyes as she stepped in.

Her eyes opened up. Much to her relief, the room was pretty much the same. No fancy colors splattering her walls. Even as someone who considered one day being a mother, she never saw an interest in painting up a colorful nursery. The furniture in her room was only slightly rearranged to make room for two new pieces. One a small dresser with a baby changer on the surface, the other a simply fashioned but well dressed baby crib.

Hating to admit it, Olivia accepted that Nina really was making things as simple and convenient as possible. Finally tiring of the baby, Olivia placed her in the crib and collapsed onto the bed she hadn't touched in over a week.

~*~*~*~

Not even half an hour would go by when Olivia is dragged out of bed by the infant's cries.

She didn't freak out over the basic essentials of baby care, despite having zero experience with it. She knew that she wasn't going to become an expert on day one and just went with her gut instinct when it came to learning what it was the baby needed and how to go about getting it.

Changing diapers and calming her down were simple enough.

When it now came time to feed, Olivia filled one of the bottles with baby formula labeled from Massive Dynamic and therefore could not be considered your standard baby forumla. Definitly, not the normal kind of formula one would give to a baby if a science lab had to make it. Perhaps they made the right kind that Olivia was supposed to feed to a clone. After all, Olivia had already screwed up when it came to giving birth to a perfect child. She wouldn't be surprised if the Guinevere Cult got huffed up because their precious little clone was being fed improperly.

Olivia held the child perfectly when she brought the bottle to her mouth. But after tasting…barely sucking one drop of formula, the baby wailed in hysterics. Try as she might, Olivia couldn't force the bottle down the baby's mouth. But now the baby was actually flailing its weak little limbs as much as it could to keep the formula away, and was close to actually knocking the bottle out of Olivia's hands.

She wouldn't accept it. Olivia didn't understand why the baby wouldn't drink the formula. She knew that this had to be the formula that the clone had to take. Why would this infant who was created less by God and more by science refuse to take what it was probably designed to take?

The struggle with the hungry child went on for minutes. The cries getting louder with the passage of time.

The answer began to slowly form in her mind…

The hospital…Olivia had nursed the baby on her first feeding.

She rushed to unbutton her blouse and brought the struggling baby to her breast. Sure enough, the child latched on, her cries replaced by quite, peaceful suckling.

Olivia sighed. Looks like she was in bigger trouble now. The baby was fed the wrong stuff and now there was no way she was going to consume anything other than breast milk. Now Olivia regretted feeding her in the hospital. She thought it would only be a one-time deal and the idea was NOT to get attached the baby in any way.

So far it seemed to be working, Olivia didn't exchange a single word with the infant since bringing her home. Not even a coo or sweet word of the like, but Olivia was far from neglectful. She answered the call whenever she needed something and quietly went about meeting every basic need without much emotion. To answer the feeding issue, Olivia would just extract her own breast milk and feed it to her through a bottle…make things easier for the both of them.

Not surprisingly, Olivia would get no sleep on her first night, but the cause had less to do with the baby's crying…more to do with the nightmares and flashes she still had of the birth. Every bad dream she ever had before that day seemed like a fluffy apparition.

The bad visions gave her another legitimate reason to keep her distance. Why would she get anywhere near something that brought her so much trauma and pain?

Peter was still apparently in the hospital so Olivia spent all of the next day alone in her apartment…with all the window blinds closed, her gun always by her side, all as it was when she pregnant. She spent most of the day, outside of caring for the baby, sitting in the darkness of her bedroom, feeling more scared and alone even with the presence of another human being in her arms.

Once again, she spent most of that night just lying in bed fully awake for the baby's next need. She assumed it was near time to feed her again anyway.

Olivia froze when she heard a loud thud coming from the living room. She waited and listened. Suddenly, more noises and a loud bang.

Immediately, she jumped out of her bed and grabbed her gun. The door leading out into the living room flew open and her gun was instantly aimed at the scene infront of her. A man lying dead on the floor, with a gunshot wound oozing out of its skull…and another man standing over him.

"HEY!!!"

The man noticed Olivia right away…bearing the look of a frightened animal, and turned.

"STOP!!!"

She fired a shot at the fleeing man, but it missed. Olivia was now left in the living room with a dead body and the busted door to her apartment left wide open.

Young cries sent her sulking back to her bedroom, leaving the gun back on the nightstand. She picked up the baby knowing it would take a long time to calm the child from the gunshots that stirred them both from sleep.

Soon, she would have to call Broyles and have the police over. The Guinevere Cult was already causing trouble in her life once more after giving her only a few days of peace. Olivia cried her own tears, forgetting about the crying of the one in her arms.

She found herself softly asking _'Why me?', 'Why me?'_. But she knew that was a question that was unlikely to ever be answered.

* * *

_**Permit me to cower from you for giving you this Peter-less, angstyfiller-much chapter. But hey, next chap features once again...RACHEL. LOL. I hope to drive you nuts with what I do with her and Olivia in the next chapter because that is just what I like doing. O k C ya.**_


	28. Baby Bitey

**_I know I'm breaking my alterating between my multichaps but I just couldn't wait anymore to write this chapter. I guess you'll see why when you finish reading. _**

**_I changed the title of the last chap to "Day one" so dont freak out. Titles are not my specialty though I did enjoy naming this chapter. It's semi based on a memorable quote from "The Simpsons". So free virtual cookies to whoever guess what Simpsons joke I am talking about. (Guess I need to learn how to make virtual cookies first, heh.)_**

* * *

Walter had been making a nice cozy dwelling for himself in one of the waiting rooms. Only the people around him were aware that he was giving off an unusual smell for sleeping in the same section for such a long period of time…waiting for the doctors to finally treat the ray gun wound in Peter. He wished that he was a St. Genevieve's again…where the patients were fun to gawk at and he could personally take a look at them unlike here.

The old man was finally stirred from his sleep by an unusual vibration in his pants. He was rather disappointed to find it was just Peter's cell phone causing the vibrations. So far he knew how to flip it open to answer.

"Ahoy?"

"Hello? Walter?"

"Yes, Agent Dunham. It is Walter. But please if you're going to speak to me on the phone you must say 'ahoy hoy'. That was Alexander Graham Bell's original intent as to how one must start a conversation when using the telephone and it's only fair since he beat Thomas Edison to the invention first."

"Uh…ahoy hoy…Walter. Um…I haven't heard from you in a while. How's Peter doing?"

"Oh just splendid. The doctors are actually doing one last surgery to remove some disturbing little bugs that the ray gun must've contaminated him with. I believe he should be out by tomorrow."

Olivia tried to hold in her disgust. "That's great news, Walter. Well, look. Something's happened and I just want you to send Peter a message for me."

"Will do!" Walter said cheerfully.

"I'm sure Broyles has let you in on the fact that two men broke into my apartment last night. I'm gonna leave town for a couple of days with the baby and I don't want him to worry. Did you get that?"

Walter stuttered. "Yes…almost all of it…except I don't recall what baby you're speaking of."

"The one I gave birth to?"

"Oh yes…the little blue blob!"

Olivia sighed. "Just let Peter know I'm leaving town for a little while, alright?" She then hung up the phone instantly regretting giving Walter that message to handle. But she had no idea how much longer Peter would be in the hospital and Olivia had no time to waste.

She was no longer safe at home.

The police as well as Broyles and Charlie came by to investigate. Neither the dead body in her living room nor the man Olivia saw get away were identifiable but they all feared the same thing. It was the Guinevere Cult and they had tracked Olivia into her own apartment. There was nothing to confirm any of it yet. But Olivia knew that she couldn't stay in her home…not for a while anyway.

She remembered the message she got from her sister before going into labor. Rachel and Ella were now living in a small quite neighborhood out in the country. It was a grappling decision, as Olivia didn't want to put her own family in danger.

But she had nowhere else to go. Perhaps the cult will wait again before coming after her making this her only opportunity see her only family again before all hell broke loose. She would take a cab out so that no one could track her down through her car. It would become the perfect escape.

~*~*~*~

The neighborhood that Rachel and Ella lived in was a 2-hour drive out of Boston in a quiet woodland area. Olivia carried all of her bags out of the cab (mostly containing baby stuff) with one arm. Her other carried the baby who was sleeping soundly in a nice wicker basket (another extravagant gift from Nina). Walking up to the beautiful condo house, Olivia stood at the door and knocked.

It was time for her to put on her mask…hide everything that was going on in the world outside of this community and put on her show as Rachel opened the door, squealing in surprise to see her older sister.

It wasn't until Olivia had entered the colorful home and place her bags down did Rachel see Olivia' traveling companion in the wicker basket. "Oh…my…god! Is that the baby?"

The act begun, with Olivia putting on a smile that could fool almost anyone. "Yeah," she said, fearing the many questions she knew that Rachel would have soon to follow. "This is her…"

She allowed Rachel to get acquainted with the little thing and she picked her up and held her with a natural loving ease. "Oh…you are the cutest, tiniest thing I've ever seen! Yes you are!" Olivia smirked at her sister's coddling of the baby. Rachel was always a sucker for the cute things, babies especially.

"Ella, come here and see your baby cousin!"

Despite being very happy to see her young niece, Olivia instantly cringed. Baby cousin? Rachel was getting the wrong impression already.

"She's really small and pink," said Ella. Olivia liked her niece's blunt approach to the baby even though Rachel didn't approve. "Is she yours Aunt Livvy?"

Rachel was on pins and needles waiting for Olivia's answers. "No," Olivia said smiling. "She's not mine. I'm just looking after her for a while. But you're free to treat her like family."

"What's her name?"

Olivia never thought about that at all. She was able to sneak the baby out without having to sign any birth certificates so she went with the most logical choice. "It's Guinevere."

"Oh Gwen!" said Rachel. "That's a good name you picked out, Liv."

It wasn't until Ella was absent from the kitchen that the Dunham sisters were able to confront their curiosities about one another as they were preparing dinner.

"Are you gonna tell me why your keeping a baby that you claimed to have for someone else?"

"First," said Olivia on the defensive. "You're gonna tell me how you managed to deal with your crisis with Greg without MY help."

"I told you about that lawyer. He got some dirt on Greg and I was able to keep Ella."

"And why did you choose to move out here?"

"Both of my jobs are here."

"Both of them?"

"Well, the lawyer cost a little bit more than I expected him too."

Olivia sighed. She had a feeling this would be the case.

"But it's a nice town. Ella's got a good school here. We might just stay here."

"And how exactly are you affording to stay in a nice place like this…"

Rachel laughed. "Okay, Liv. I think we heard enough about me." Her eagerness to drop the subject suggested that Rachel was a little more in debt than she was willing to admit. "Now, you tell me about little baby Gwen."

"It's not that simple, Rache."

"Try me. Livvy."

"The…adoptive parents…backed out," Olivia said nervously. "There was a bad situation they got into and they thought it would be better for her to find another family so they gave me some money to compensate. And right now, she's with me until something is figured out."

Rachel looked at her older sister fiercely. "I think you're lying again," she said with a malicious smile. "Do you remember when I was pregnant with Ella?"

"A little," said Olivia. "I remember yelling at you a lot for allowing yourself to get pregnant while you were so young."

"Aside from that, you also yelled at me because I refused for a while to tell you exactly how I got pregnant and who the father was. I don't know why you won't tell me the truth, Liv. But it seems now that the tables have turned."

Olivia pretended to show admit a small bit of defeat. "Maybe I just don't feel comfortable with letting everyone at work know how it is I got pregnant to begin with. It's been very rough…very humiliating."

"Well…I guess you know a little how I feel then. But look on the bright side. You gave birth to a beautiful baby. I wish I could've been there. I remember when I gave birth to Ella. You told me the pain would go away as irritated as I was when I went into labor and it turns out you were right. I was so happy when Ella came out I was in tears and…"

Olivia drowned out her sister's rants. If it were up to her, she would've gone straight up to her sister and choked the twisted cruel irony out of her blabbing. Every word she said was true though about when she had Ella. Rachel's childbirth experience was more of a fairytale than Olivia's ever would. Sure there were pains but they gave way to make room for a bright spark of life that was Ella, and all of Rachel's screaming-at-her-sister-in-the-delivery room troubles had faded away quickly. Olivia only told Rachel that it would be a joyous recovery from the labor just to shut her up. Now her words came back to bite her in her own ass.

Now Rachel finally asked. "Was it as painful for you as it was for me?"

Sometimes, Olivia was an expert liar but mostly when it came to the little things. She would never tell a greater lie in her life than the one she was telling her sister at that very moment. "It was…about the same."

With time, Olivia continued to hide her true feelings and memories from her family over the next couple of days. With her sister working two jobs, Olivia didn't mind being stuck in the condo having to baby-sit Ella while looking after Gwen at the same time. She even let Ella try to bottle-feed Gwen though it wasn't an easy task. The baby did not like her first bottle-feed experience and she had a hard time accepting that Olivia was now feeding her breast milk by the bottle. But eventually Olivia's intentions won out.

"Ow!"

"Ella, you okay?"

"Yeah," she said. "I thought I felt a really sharp scratch on my arm." Ella showed her arm to her aunt, which was clean and untainted with scratches or cuts. "I don't think the baby likes me though."

"She's probably just scared," Olivia assured her niece. "Once she learns not to be loud and cry over everything it will be easier for her to get along with people." Olivia knew though, hoped anyway that by then the baby would be gone…out of their lives and Ella would no longer have to be concerned about this issue.

~*~*~*~

From upstairs they could hear Gwen wail for the hundredth time since being at the house. "Whoa…I don't recall Ella ever being this fussy when I brought her home," Rachel said as the girls were having their nighttime drinks. "So…how's Peter been?"

"I have a feeling he's been trying to call me, but my cell phone died out yesterday and I forgot to pack my charger."

"Was he there when you had Gwen?"

"No. It all happened suddenly and too soon. He got to see me after the birth though."

Rachel smirked. "I bet he stayed with you the whole time you were there."

Olivia was surprised by the comment. "Until I told him he could go."

"Well that wasn't very nice, Liv." Rachel was teasing her.

"I had to have surgical repair done to my reproductive organs. I had to let him go before I would completely 'lose it'."

"Why would you 'lose it', Liv?"

"Let's just say, I wasn't feeling all that great after the birth. I've been having a bad case of P.T.S.D. since I took Gwen home."

Rachel laughed. "It's not Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder…it's called Post-Partum Depression. Every new mother goes through it. I went through it. You'll get through it, too."

Olivia almost felt like throwing the glass of wine in her hand at her sister's ignorance. Little did she know that Olivia knew exactly what she was talking about. She would've given anything for all of this to be just P.P.D. Earlier that evening when they had dinner, Olivia almost freaked out when Rachel prepared an infant-sized dish of a blue blobby-like gelatin dish for dessert. She barely managed to keep it together with vision of the breathing blob flashing before her eyes during that very moment...hyperventilating at some points. She knew that such things could not attribute to something so common as depression.

Thank god the baby was now in Ella's company. After that freak out, Olivia didn't think she could deal with looking at Gwen for the rest of the night.

All of that change when the women were about to retire for the night and heard a high pitch scream…coming from upstairs.

"MOM!!!!!"

The sisters leapt from the couch simultaneously. Olivia whipping out her gun rushed up the stairs first, to the location of Ella's scream.

She was with the baby in the room Olivia was sleeping in. The seconds went by slowly as Olivia lowered her gun realizing that Ella had a deep gash from in her forearm. She put her gun away and went quickly to Ella's side. Olivia grabbed a rag from one of her many bags ignoring Gwen's cries and going straight to stopping the bleeding in Ella's arm.

"OUT OF THE WAY!!!" Olivia founded herself being knocked to the floor. Her presence at her niece's side had been replaced by Rachel, who was freaking out at the massive wound in her daughter's arm.

"It's okay, baby! It's gonna be alright!" Ella couldn't stop screaming and crying as Rachel rushed her over to the bathroom to clean off as much blood as she could.

"She did it!"

"What?"

Ella cried pointing back at the wicker basket. "The baby did it! I was sitting with her and all the sudden she stared at me. She opened her mouth like she was gonna bite me and I started hurting!"

Olivia turned to Gwen and managed to inspect her mouth. "There isn't any teeth."

"She bit me, mom! She was trying to hurt me!"

Rachel applied some gauze to the wound but she knew that it wouldn't hold out very long. Ella would have to go to the hospital.

"My god, Liv…" Rachel pointed at the baby. "What kind of baby is that?!"

"Oh come on," Olivia said in disbelief. "Do you actually believe that a week-old baby with no teeth could bite someone?"

"ARE YOU CALLING MY DAUGHTER A LIAR?!!"

"No…I…"

"ELLA WOULD NOT LIE ABOUT SOMETHING LIKE THIS!"

"I know!" She ran her fingers through her hair looking back at the baby and back at her terrified younger sister. "I know, but there has to be an explanation…"

"The only thing I know, Liv. Is that you've been trying to hide a lot of things from me…about your work…about the baby…I don't even know you anymore! That baby is NOT a normal baby, is she?!"

Tears and anger flushed through Olivia's system. "You don't understand!!!"

"STOP WITH YOUR EXCUSES!!!" Rachel picked up Ella and carried her downstairs. Olivia ran down the stairs after them.

"RACHEL!!!"

"Don't you dare follow us! I want you out of my house by the time I get back!"

"Just listen to me!"

"I SAID GET OUT!!!" Rachel took the blood-dried rag that Ella had been holding the whole time and threw it at Olivia. "GET OUT AND TAKE THE FREAK BABY WITH YOU!!!" Rachel had slammed the front door on her way with such extreme force that a glass figurine in the foyer got knocked over.

Olivia was left alone but there was no silence with the baby upstairs wailing. It was getting so loud that Olivia could hear a pounding coming from the condo next door. After cleaning the broken glass from the floor, Olivia quickly went about gathering all of her things and the baby's and went out the door.

She regretted not calling a cab from inside Rachel's before stepping out. But by then, the doors had been locked so she couldn't go back in. Luckily Rachel's home was within walking distance of town but her options were still very thin. With her cell phone dead, Olivia hoped that there was a hotel and motel in the heart of town where she could think things over.

Because, as she started walking…in almost poetic fashion…it started to rain.

* * *

**_Once again, I apologized for OOCness in Rachel or Ella. My desired effect was for them to not understand nor realize that not every mother has a fantasy-like birth experience like you would see in movies or television. I did some research on women who really did suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and it was really depressing stuff. I've read a lot of preggers fics and not many take the PTSD route. Hope it explains why I wrote chapter 22 the way I did. I know, I've been kicking Olivia down in this story waaaay to much. But there could a light at the end of the tunnel soon. Hang on everyone!_**


	29. By night's end

_**This chappy dedicated to Skate815 welcoming her back from holiday and for giving me enough makeup reviews to reach the big 100! WHOO-HOO! This is great cuz this is the third fanfic in my life history that ever got at least 100 reviews! :D**_

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He couldn't believe he was the last one to learn about the break-in, which only made him hate his hospital experience even more. Important things like this hardly reached Peter since he was far down the whole Special-FBI-DHS-whatever unit as they go. He had been dialing Olivia's cell phone like mad since his release only to get no response of any kind…

Until Walter finally remembered the message…er…at least most of the message: seeing sister, no worry, something like that.

If that message had gotten to Peter any later than the day Walter got it, he would have had to seriously murder him.

But Peter had no idea where Rachel and Ella were now living though he knew it couldn't have been far. Times like this made Peter glad that he had…connections. And given that Rachel had to rely on some nasty connections regarding her custody case, Peter could imagine that the two of them had been crossing paths with the same acquaintances.

He didn't tell his people what he needed the information for, only that it was urgent and Peter was willing to pay or at least bargain his way to get the information he needed.

It took over a day however for Peter to finally get an address. By then, he had already called Olivia's cell phone about 100000 times, refusing to accept that her phone would be off for so long. He even drove by her apartment several times, the place still entrapped behind the yellow police tape.

By the time Peter would arrived at the address, it would be late at night but he thought it would be fun to surprise the girls with his appearance…put on his charm for the younger sister while keeping his concern for the older one hidden until the visit would come to an end…

…and just maybe, Peter would be able to convince Olivia to come home with him.

~*~*~*~

The quaint little Main Street was now in the dark. Rain began to pour down heavily as Olivia struggled her way towards the canopy. Carrying two bags and a basket was difficult when it still hurt for her to walk. She finally arrived and rested on the bench that the canopy sheltered…the rain poured all around them like a cavern within the waterfall.

But Gwen was wailing from being as cold and soaked as Olivia was. After giving the baby a dry change of clothes and diapers, Olivia leaned back on the bench in a painful struggle to relax.

The terrible and unexplainable situation of the night came as no surprise to Olivia. Still, she insisted it was impossible for a toothless newborn to bite a child. But there was no way that Ella could've lied and done it to herself either. Ella was a good girl, an angel in her first week on earth. Olivia knew because she had kept Rachel company the first week she was out of the hospital after her birth. She was a sweet child who wasn't wailing for a basic need every five minutes…

…nothing like Gwen. Gwen was still displeased and unhappy even after being given a fresh change. No matter how attentive Olivia was, the little thing was screeching in displeasure.

She wanted nothing more than to sleep. It didn't matter to Olivia that she was now stranded with a baby in a storm with practically anyone who is anyone out to get her. But Gwen's endless cries were only adding to the stress. The baby had become more of a second head that was stuck to Olivia, a ticking time bomb that whose wires could not be cut. Soon there would be a boiling point…but that was unheard of. Olivia loved children, she always tolerated them…understood them. She never lost patience with them. Perhaps it was her lack of experience with infants that was causing everything in her system to crash.

For one brief second Olivia saw herself doing it…she saw herself taking some clothes from her bag, maybe just a shirt would have done the trick. It would've been far too easy with no one around and the rain shielding the scene from society's judgmental eyes. All that it required was pressing the cloth over Gwen's cries…all she needed was to press down…deeper and deeper…and listen to the cries fade away.

She jumped away from the bench. Gwen was still crying in the wicker basket. Olivia looked at her hands in disbelief. She had envisioned those hands killing her…killing a child…far from innocent, but still a child. Her hands went to her face in absolute shame. How could she possibly develop such terrible thoughts?

It had to be a sign of the obvious. She was unfit…undeserving to be a mother. She couldn't handle one simple baby for a week's time. If this had been truly her baby, flesh and blood, she wouldn't have been able to forgive herself for all the trials that the baby had been put through. Moreso, she wouldn't have been able to forgive herself for trying to rid of this cursed baby from her own cursed life.

On the other hand, this wasn't really a baby. This was a man-made creation and as such it could barely be considered human. Still, there had to be something human deep inside that little buggy-eyed, 3lb, flesh in order for Olivia to feel this much remorse.

She finally picked Gwen up thinking that she had to be freezing with this kind of weather, wrapped a baby blanket around her, and held her as close to her without pressing Gwen to her damped clothing.

"Sorry."

It was soft and barely audible but it became the very first word Olivia ever spoke to her. Given all of Olivia's failures to herself, her family and friends, the Guinevere Cult, and now a helpless little baby, it was a far more appropriate greeting than a 'hello'.

"I'm…sorry."

~*~*~*~

Peter drove up to the driveway and ran up to the door. He knew this was the right place, as his connections NEVER failed him. But at 11pm it would seem odd that all the lights were off and no one seemed to be home. He knocked several times. Perhaps they all went somewhere together…but where he didn't know. Nor would he knew when they were even coming back.

When it became apparent after 15 minutes that no lights would come on and no knock would be answered, Peter turned around running through the downpour just to get back to the car.

He ended up stopping halfway in the rain…staring at the figure across the street.

It was his good friend…the Observer…in his usual attire except he was holding an umbrella over his head…an umbrella with a giant number '35'.

The number had to be something of creepy significance; Peter knew that much by this point. He walked over towards the bald man's direction, not caring being soaked, but a sudden flash of lightning distracted Peter, causing him to blink.

By the time his senses fell back into place, Peter turned his attention back only to find the Observer was gone.

Typical.

~*~*~*~

Olivia stared at the slowly approaching headlights with extreme caution. Thinking that this car would just speed past by, her instincts were on high alert when a taxi actually pulled up to the side of the road by the bench where the women were sitting. Highly suspicious to Olivia as it was extremely rare for a taxi to be driving through a small town this late at night with no other souls wandering about.

A man poked his head out from the driver's window. "My last round of the day so I suggest taking the chance…less you want to stay out in this weather all night."

Olivia felt the gun in her coat pocket, kept a mental note to prep herself for anything. "How do I know that I can trust you?"

"Well that's quite a rude question to be asking me isn't it? I can take my business elsewhere if that's gonna be the case."

Olivia slowly moved towards the driver. She only needed a quick closeup of his face, a confirmation, before grabbing him by his shirt collar. Her free hand pulled out her gun. "I knew you looked familiar."

The taxi driver got nervous as he struggled under Olivia's grasp. "Huh? What?"

"You were in my apartment a few days ago. Who are you? What do you think you're doing?"

"Lady…I'm trying to help you…"

"Who are you working for?!"

"Ugh…"

Olivia pulled out her gun, made sure the man saw it in order to state her threat.

"NINA! Nina sent me!"

She went wide-eyed upon hearing the name. "Nina Sharp? Why would she send someone to break into my home?" Her hold on the man's collar finally loosened.

"She didn't…she sent me to stop the other guy from killing you."

"So…the dead man was one of Guinevere's?"

"He found your address and thought he could finish you on his own…we had to stop him before anyone else knew where you lived. They've gotten better at finding stuff. They even have ways of finding out where you are right now."

Olivia looked at the man coldly. "Then how did YOU find me?"

"Best if you just get the kid and get in the car. They could be looking for us right now."

She did as the driver told him piling herself and all of her stuff into the back seat. Baby Gwen of course was fast asleep by the time the cab was on the country road heading back to Boston. The rains continued to pour down heavily.

"All I can tell you is that Nina sent me to help you and the baby out, that's it."

"But how did you know I was here?"

The stranger sighed. "Look, just know that what we're doing for ya is for your own good, alright? Guinevere's people, she still has plenty of them scattered around these parts…all waiting for a chance to come after you."

"Then why don't they just get it over with? Why won't they just take Gwen and kill me now?"

"Ziegler closed the portal."

"The portal…to the other reality?"

"He managed to destroy the ones owned by the cult, and now the only way in or out is controlled by people on our side. Those devices take years to build and repair so there would be no point in them grabbing the kid now if they can't get it back to their leader anytime soon. Some of those followers are trapped here and can't do much else until they try and reopen the portal."

"How long would that take?"

"Could be 1-2 years depending."

"I…" She looked down at the baby. "I have to keep her for THAT long? Why doesn't Nina or Ziegler take her in?"

"They don't do kids. Neither do I so…don't even ask."

Silence overwhelmed Olivia. This crisis wasn't gonna be over for a long time…longer than she anticipated.

"Last word from Ziegler is that some of them cult stragglers have a bounty on your head. Around $500,000 for you alive or dead. Get the baby alive $2 million. It's a little game they're wagering for themselves and chances are most of them won't make a move until they're sure they can get back over to the other reality to see Guinevere. Nina's got operatives like me tracking everyone to make sure you're still alive when this is all over."

"Well…you can go back to her and tell her to knock it off. I don't need her stalking me every second."

"Look, that's just how it is lady. I don't make the rules here and if I…"

The man's words were cut off by a loud bang. Blood and glass splattered across the front seat.

Olivia bent over in her seat knowing right away what was about to happen. On immediate instinct, her arms wrapped themselves around the baby basket and she used the rest of herself to shield the entire thing as much as she could.

The cab swerved off the road, not stopping until a tree got in its way.

The baby started crying again the same moment Olivia started breathing again. She anxiously looked around. The front seat of the cab was completely totaled as well as its driver. Olivia was lucky. Looking down at the baby in the basket and not finding a single bruise or scrape, Gwen was even luckier. Still Olivia laid low with the child, carefully pulling out her gun and waiting for the safest moment to slip out of the vehicle.

Immediately upon stepping out, Olivia aimed her gun everywhere despite the downpour and the darkness blocking her vision. Her senses had to rely on guesswork. She closed her eyes trying to drown out everything…including Gwen's cries.

That's when she heard it…footsteps…from somewhere past the trees.

She fired several shots through the downpour. There was no return fire.

Olivia carefully took a few steps into the woods until she found the newly deceased on the ground. It was another unidentifiable soul…who had a sniper rifle with him. This man was clearly reckless in his efforts, despite the fact that he managed to kill the cab driver with a sniper shot in pouring rain.

She dropped to her knees in exhaustion. The rest wouldn't last long as she swore she saw the lights of another car in the distance. She hurried back to the wrecked cab, feeling guilty for leaving Gwen in the back seat. The baby was still inside, still okay.

Hearing a car door slam, Olivia readied her gun and crouched behind the wreckage. She could sense someone getting closer and closer.

The rain seemed to get lighter the very moment she popped up and aimed at the man on who was staring at the cab's backside…staring at that giant number '35' that was painted on the trunk.

The expression on their faces reflected each other in absolute disbelief.

"Liv?!"

"Peter?!"

She dropped her gun and just stumbled toward him. Both were quick to brace in each others' arms. They only hadn't seen each other in a week but the pure exhaustion from the past months of hell only compelled them to hold each other tighter…much tighter.

She asked first. "What are you doing here?!"

"I was gonna ask you the same thing." He looked at the wreckage. "My god, what the hell happened?"

Olivia put her own hand to her flushed forehead. "Too long a story…Rachel kicked me out…I…"

"Hey," Peter said settling a hand on her arm. "Don't worry about it. Let's just get the hell outta here, alright?"

Olivia didn't need to be asked that twice. By this point, she was willing to do anything to get herself out of this mess…but Peter's sudden appearance was a complete surprise…far more than she felt she deserved.

"Okay…just let me get the baby." She turned to the wrecked cab and pulled Gwen. The kid was unharmed and oblivious to the chaos that was occurring all around her already falling asleep. Peter could be heard groaning behind her. "Does she HAVE to come with us?"

Unknown to him, the FBI Agent found herself smirking. She had a hard time believing it. After all these weeks, it was the closest thing that Olivia came to smiling.

~*~*~*~

The long dark trip back to Boston was extremely rugged with the rains picking up again. But what mattered now was that Olivia was finally with someone she could trust…someone who wouldn't turn her away.

"How did you know where I was?" she asked him curiously.

Peter thought about his weird encounter with the Observer. Coming upon the wreck on the road was no coincidence yet he really was going to drive right past it and not give it a second thought…

…that was until he saw the same number on the cab that he saw on Baldy's umbrella.

"I didn't," he said. "I went to see you at your sister's and no one was home. So I gave up and headed back. Call it luck or coincidence I guess."

They finally arrived back at the Bishop's new apartment in the middle of the night greeted by the loud snoring of Walter that echoed throughout. Peter offered Olivia the shower and when she was finally cleaned and changed into her drier clothes, she was surprised to find Peter cleaning up his bedroom for her, with Gwen and all of their bags already settled in.

"I can just sleep in the living room, Peter." Olivia was being serious. After all, as awkward as it already was that she was staying here she had to tell herself that this would only be an overnight stay…maybe two nights but she was only here for dry shelter and to think over everything the driver had told her before he was taken out. "You just got out of the hospital."

"Yeah and what about you?" asked Peter. "I can tell, Liv. It still hurts for you to move around. Just take the bedroom. Besides, I already kinda missed sleeping on the old couch back at the hotel."

Too tired to argue, Olivia decided to give in and got into Peter's bed. He stood by the door watching her settle in.

"Got everything you need?"

"I'll be fine. Thanks."

"Have a good night, Liv. You deserve it." He almost closed the door, finally giving Olivia one night of sleep that she desperately needed.

The door flew open and Peter stepped in one more time. "Just one more thing though…uh…" He scratched his head nervously. "If you plan on changing any diapers while you're here…Walter has a chemical waste banister in his bedroom so…you might want to try sneaking them in there."

She gave him a light chuckle. "Alright". Peter was deeply relieved by the look on her face, mainly because it had been an eternity since he's seen her smile, even if it was very brief. It was smile nonetheless. The nightmare was far from over but there was still hope that she could get through this one alive.

"Goodnight," he said feeling victorious as he closed the door.

Olivia knew that Gwen couldn't sleep much longer and she was bound to wake her up again in an hour or two. She might as well get whatever little sleep she could. Her head rested on the pillow and what she inhaled was a familiar scent…Peter's scent. It felt so warm and comforting. She took it all in and she managed to fall asleep in his bed quicker and more peacefully because of it.

~*~*~*~

Nina personally checked the status on her own laptop. Her computer screen revealed a map and a tiny red dot blinked over one particular set of coordinates. She knew the location already.

It was the Bishops' new apartment.

She had always been a woman of tracking everyone, her friends close…her enemies just as close. Little did Olivia know that when Nina was collecting the baby's DNA, she sneaked in a microchip on her skin when Olivia looked away. She knew the agent would have even less reason to trust her if she knew that the baby that was with her had been tagged. But how else was Nina going to do her job of keeping an eye on the both of them?

Granted Guinevere's followers were putting up a good fight with Nina's agents, stalking Olivia and the baby at every turn. But now with Nina knowing where the girls were every second of every day, she could remain one step ahead.

Nina wasn't worried about Olivia being followed to where she was now. It made her smirk knowing what company Olivia and the baby were in. She knew that Peter was going to keep them safe. She knew when Peter approached her for assistance with one of Olivia's cases that he deeply cared for the new mother. Still, just for extra precautions, Nina would have to send some of her people to watch the Bishops' apartment every single minute.

She was doing much more work than when Bell was alive and she wasn't even getting paid for it. All she had to concern herself with was the fate of the two realities. Still she sighed as she finally went to bed speaking to no one in particular "I hope you're happy, William."

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_**Hmm...now let's see. It was chapter 5 when you find that Olivia is pregnant and it took 24 chapters of this crazyness to finally put our couple under the same roof together. Am I one to torture the fans or what? I mean, most stories would have this kinda thing happen right in the next chap. Then again, most stories aren't written by ME. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!**_


	30. Slimy testing

_**Well finally is right. It's been mentally difficult for me to keep up with updates as of late. Too much stuff going on in my head causing a mental strain. Plus this is a filler chapter which is difficult stuff for me to write. On the plus side, I've always wanted to do a double fic-update and now I am. Woot. I was hoping to have this story completed before the new season starts but I have a feeling that won't be happening at my current will-speed.**_

_**But hey, some Bolivia fluff to be had here. Hope you like. Expect some crazy time jumps in this fic real soon. This chap's dedicated to goladyvols who gave me a certain nickname I'm using for the kid. ;)**_

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'_Kill me…'_

He kept repeating the words in his head over and over but it did nothing to drown it out.

'_Kill…me…'_

It was all he could think about. And it had only been two hours since he brought Olivia here with that baby…with that whiny loudmouth baby.

Peter finally surrendered. There was no way in hell he was gonna get any sleep in what little remained left of the night. In fact, it was almost morning. He pulled himself out of the couch and slowly slouched closer and closer to the source of a cry so loud it could almost shake the whole apartment.

He wasn't even sure if his knock would even be heard until a sudden waves of infant cries began to blast Peter's ears.

"Oh…sorry," Olivia said the moment she opened the door holding Gwen. "She's normally not like this."

"You mean loud and annoying? Liv, I think that's natural."

Just as Peter feared, a door would open down the hall and Walter stumbled out in his pajamas and slippers. He looked like he was sleepwalking (which he normally did at this hour) not even minding the cries of an infant in his apartment as he walked past.

"Morning, Peter…Olivia…"

Walter seemed to greet them as if there nothing unusual about the fact that Olivia was in his son's room in nightclothes. Finally, he blinked as he looked at the baby in her arms. "Hello, who are you?"

"Walter, sorry we woke you up," said Olivia. Looking closer at Gwen, she noticed some patches of red spreading awkwardly on her skin. "Oh great, I think she's got a rash."

"Oh yes, this is our little blue friend," said Walter looking at the baby. "I do remember you now. Why I recall meeting you when you were just a large breathing mass of tissue in the incubator. You looked like my old liver back then."

"That was 10 days ago, Walter." Peter let go of his efforts to make his father go away.

"I don't suppose," Olivia sighed. "That the rash might be related to anything…"

"Oh Agent Dunham, you speak of it as if it's not normal…"

"As if anything about that baby is," Peter grumbled.

Walter looked at the baby's skin carefully. "Ah yes. It's nothing to worry about. She's just irritated. She's not yet used to life outside of her shell. I can't say I blame her. Most children are born with a coat of vernix that moistens the skin, or in her case the blue plasma."

"Should I try bathing her again?" asked Olivia.

"Not with water, no. I propose we use the same substance she was born with. The blue goo."

Walter went back to his room and grabbed a jar of the blue goo he had been saving. Peter couldn't actually believe that Walter had kept that stuff the whole time.

Before long Gwen was placed in a large bowl of water and blue slime. The baby finally seemed to be calm and relaxed as Olivia was sponge-bathing her, unsure of whether or not any of this was gonna do any good. Gwen was completely covered in the blue gooey substance something that chilled Peter to the bone.

"You do realize how incredibly creepy this is," said Peter.

"It gets creepier. Ella got a huge bleeding gash on her arm and said the baby did it."

"S**t! Thanks, Liv. Now I'm going to have nightmares of Slimy here coming to attack me in my sleep!"

"Slimy?"

"She came from slime and makes people bleed. Her name deserves to be something as creepy as she is."

~*~*~*~

The days went by quietly with the exception, of course, of Gwen. Olivia was starting to feel the cabin-fever inside of the apartment, her presence here making things already cramped. Her fear of stepping outside for even a second made her feel trapped. She planned to leave soon, but she had to rethink her strategy. The baby was going to be stuck with her for at least a year. How in the world was she going to hide out for a whole year? The stress was getting to her as much as the hours she spent awake having to deal with Gwen.

"I'm going out for a few hours," said Peter. "You need anything? More diapers or more of that blue icky stuff."

"No thanks," she said. "I'm trying not to let anyone know I'm here except for you and Walter."

Peter examined Olivia's face closely. He couldn't turn away from the three sets of rings that were developing under her baggy eyes. "I'm guessing you haven't slept since you've had Slimy come into your life?"

Olivia sighed. "I try but it's hopeless. Just go, I'll be fine."

Peter turned away and walked over to the kitchen. It was an unusual sight for him to see his father at the stove. "Walter?" His father was cooking up a familiar looking omelet on a skillet. "Is that what I think it is?"

"Yes, and this time I would appreciate you don't eat it," said Walter. "It's for the baby. A replacement ear for her microtia."

Peter peeked and saw a little baby ear inside of the omelet. "Damnit, Walter! Can't you use stem cells like a normal scientist?! Forget it. Whatever. Just do something for me while I'm out?"

"Oh? Do you need a replacement ear, Peter?"

Peter looked to see that Olivia wasn't looking then placed a small bottle of sleeping pills on the counter. "Normally, you're the last person in the world I would trust. But…Liv really needs this. I think one oughta do it."

Walter winked at his boy as he walked out the door, getting the message. He was gonna have to get sneaky with the bottle of pills in his hands.

"Some tea dear?" Walter asked as he walked into the living room with two cups in his hands. Olivia finished bottle-feeding Gwen and reached for one of the cups. Walter hesitated for a moment trying to remember which cup he 'tainted' and then switched cups to give Olivia the right one at the last minute.

"Um…thanks," she said taking the cup in her hands.

She only took one sip when she heard Walter say, "You're not using your breasts."

Olivia put the cup down almost choking the tea that was going down her throat. "Excuse me?!"

"Oh…I meant…for the child. It would be a waste to let yourself swell up and…"

"I'm using a pump, Walter!"

"Oh…" said Walter. "Oh well that's good then. Then the swelling should go away after a while…"

Olivia picked up Gwen with intention of walking away from Walter but the moment she got up, she started to feel very dizzy. "Augh…I must've gotten up too fast."

At the moment, the worst of moments, a nasty green spit came from Gwen and landed right on Olivia's shirt. "Oh god, Walter, do you mind watching her for a little bit? I think I need to lie down."

Walter seemed very hesitant. "Hmm…I would like to help but I don't think Peter would like…"

"I don't mind…Please, just take her before I pass out!" Olivia surrendered the kid over to Walter and quickly rushed back to the bedroom. She only had time to clean the green puke off her shirt before finally passing out onto the bed.

"Oh dear," said Walter. "He meant one pill, not one bottle did he?"

An hour or two later Walter peeked into his son's bedroom. Olivia was out cold and would be for some while due to his own snafu. But it wouldn't be a total loss. He and Gwen could have a little fun…

…some Walter-style fun.

He had the perfect machine for his experiment, but of course, there was one problem. Walter would surely be killed if he drilled a few holes into the child's head to install the device, damn babies and their underdeveloped skulls. He searched through his closet through all the boxes of junk he had lying around, trying to find the perfect thing to connect Gwen to the device without causing her to bleed.

"Ah." Walter pulled out an old Garfield stuck-on he had from Peter's box of toys. "Garfield, you will be of great assistance." He snipped the suction cups off of the plush Garfield. Then he inserted the proper wires. Sure enough, the suction cups stuck to the baby's head without any problem.

"Now let's see." Walter turned on his device. "We'll finally confirm if you have any sort of psychic connection with your original self."

Gwen seemed to be doing well as she lied on the table, not really concerned or noticing what was going around her or the suction cups and wires that were stuck to her head.

Walter sat and looked at his various readings of the child's brain activity. Minutes later the needles was becoming ecstatic. The brain activity in Gwen's brain was increasing. He fiddled with the dials on the machine as the baby started to cry. "Fascinating," Walter mumbled to himself. It was almost as if another brainwave was interfering with all the activity going on in the child's head.

"WALTER!!!"

Peter rushed over and pulled the suction cups off of Gwen's head, which made her cry even more. He picked her up and looked at Walter coldly. "The baby is NOT a guinea pig!!!"

Walter looked a little guilty. "I wasn't hurting her, honestly."

"I should've known this would happen. Experimenting on kids and babies is a new low for you!" He stormed away from his father's room carrying Gwen.

He into his room where Olivia was still sleeping, as he was about to put the kid to sleep, Olivia opened her eyes.

"Hey," she said. "What were your yelling about?"

Peter looked at her. "Sorry. Something to do with Walter. I really don't think you would wanna know."

"God, I think he gave me too many sleeping pills."

"Yeah." Peter almost forgot that he was holding the baby until he felt something cold and wet trickle down his neck. "Augh."

Olivia sat up revealing the nasty puke green stain on her white blouse. "Don't worry. She got me worse than she got you."

Peter handed the baby over. "That means she likes you more."

"I'm sure it does," she said sarcastically. "Look, I appreciate you and Walter helping. I'll be out of your hair in another day maybe."

"And go where?"

"I dunno," said Olivia. "But I know I can't stay here. I can't really go home."

"Who says you can't stay here, Liv? You said yourself no one knows you're here. We can keep it a secret, me and Walter…hopefully Walter."

Olivia sighed. "I'll probably go home when my maternity leave ends. Until then…"

"Until then," Peter interrupted. "You can stay here as long as you need. And don't think you can fool me, Liv. I can tell when people are secretly being needy."

Olivia nodded knowing that part was true.

~*~*~*~

Peter would often give his father cold stares when he was in the apartment and Olivia didn't know why. Often he suggested that Walter not be the one watching the baby while he was out. His trust in Walter around children gone since the attempted experiment.

He felt guilty leaving Olivia in the apartment all day everyday but there was very little he could do about that as far as her safety was concerned. Some days he would walk out of the apartment and swore that people were watching him. He had to shake the feeling off, despite what Olivia told him about the night he found her. It had to suck for her to lose all sense of privacy after her entire experience.

Seeing that the cabin-fever was getting to Olivia, he had to find some way to cheer her up.

"Got something for ya. I think you're going to love it." He greeted Olivia and sat on the couch by her, carrying a paper bag in his hands.

Olivia sighed. "Peter, my spicy-food craze has been long gone. I'm glad to be eating normal food again."

"Oh trust me," said Peter. "This is much better than spicy food." He pulled the item slowly out of the bag.

"You didn't!" Olivia couldn't believe her eyes as Peter pulled out a large bottle of whiskey. The smile on her face was enormous. "I knew you'd love it," Peter said as he pulled out two shot glasses.

"I really don't know don't know if I should. I am breast-feeding."

"Do you have a few bottles filled up in the fridge?"

"Well…yeah."

Peter poured the shot glasses gleefully. "Then WE don't have a problem."

Olivia took the shot glass in her hands. "Bottoms up," said Peter. and Olivia made their toast and Olivia took in the first shot of hard liquor she had in a very long time.

Of course one shot…turned into three…then six.

"Oh god," Olivia said between hiccups. "For once, it almost seemed like things are normal again."

"Normal?" Peter giggled. "That makes me laugh."

"I know, right?" Olivia was tempted to fill her shot glass once more. "Sometime in like a minute or two…I'm gonna haveta wake up to take of care of baby that's not even mine to keep."

Peter leaned his head up to the ceiling. "Well…you can always have your own kids later…normal kids, not slimy freak clones."

Olivia shook her head. "No…" She looked out into the far nothingness she saw. "Slimy…as you call her…I think…made a little mess in me." Finally she caved into the urge. Another shot was down her throat a little later. "That bitch was right. I got to experience my only shot at the crappy miracle of childbirth. Yay me."

Peter looked at her feeling very somber. "I'm sorry."

"Hey," Olivia said sounded a bit slurred. "I'm the one who should be…sorry. You were in that s***ty ice cave with me and you…you let me stay here after all the times I keep telling you to buzz off. I…just…don't want those crazy bastards to come killing you after they kill me…or before they kill me…whatever."

"Don't talk like that," said Peter.

"I tried, Peter." Olivia didn't realize her eyes were getting watery. "It shouldn't be my own damn fault that…Slimy…came out the way she did." She leaned over on Peter's shoulder and he wrapped an arm around her. "Nah," he said. "They're just putting crap in your head."

"Can't live like this, Peter," Olivia said sniffing. "You know what I was thinking…"

"What?"

"I was thinking…maybe I should get an apartment right here. You already got all of these weirdo spies around here."

"Around where?"

"Everywhere, Peter. I don't know how or why but I know they're around. So…I'm thinking I move me and the kid somewhere close by. And then…"

"And then you can dump Slimy on some random babysitter and come here every night?"

Olivia slowly began to close her eyes and mumbled "maybe…"

Peter was feeling a bit surly himself but managed to maintain his balance as he scooped Olivia up into his arms and carried her back to his bed. As difficult as it was for Olivia to be living here all cooped up like this he hoped that the remaining weeks she had before returning to work went by slowly. He could tell by the color that was returning to her face and the smiles that she bearing now and then that staying here was making a huge world of difference.

_**-------------------------------**_

_**Also want to say that I'm loving the increase in reviews and new readers I'm getting lately. Love me some good reviews, I do. ;)**_


	31. Raging force

The bliss was short and as the weeks went on, Gwen became a much more demanding child, often demanding something on an hourly basis. No one in the apartment could sleep unless they wore earplugs (the notable exception of course being Walter who seemed to have developed his own unique way of muting the cries out or maybe he really was going deaf).

Olivia was feeling more and more guilty with each day she remained in that apartment. She eventually made the arrangements. After much consideration she thought it would be best to move for her own safety. She found an apartment several blocks from here. It was small and far less luxurious than her old home but it was well isolated.

Peter was very disappointed in her decision to not stay in the area but he understood her reasoning…her need for independence. Too bad the baby was making things much more difficult. One night Peter had to stop Olivia from scalding her hands as she was falling asleep at the kitchen sink while trying to warm up a baby bottle. How in the world was she expecting to keep this up alone?

He could argue with her for weeks but would not win. Instead he agreed to help her with the move.

"So," he asked her. "You're really ready for this?"

"Not really," Olivia replied. "I just wanted to settle in before its time for me to get back to work."

On cue, the baby was crying and whining at being left unoccupied in her crib. "Sit down," said Peter. "I'll get that."

Olivia knew it was hopeless. Peter had been helping with the baby far more than Olivia expected, only adding to her guilt. But as well intended as Peter was, the baby never seemed to change her tune around him. She was still screaming obnoxiously until Peter would finally surrender the kid over and let Olivia do what she's been worked to death over. Like magic, the room went silent as soon as Gwen was placed in Olivia's arms.

"Whoa…eerie," said Peter unable to comprehend the child's silence. "Guess Slimy prefers the company of Ma, huh?"

It was then that Olivia gave Peter a look, like she had been shot in the back or something or that nature. "What?" Peter was absolutely confused. "What did I say?"

She turned from him hoping in an attempt to make herself numb. "Nothing, it's just…I'm not her mother, and I don't want her getting any ideas."

Peter immediately realized her mistake. "Oh…sorry."

"It's fine, Peter."

"But hey, maybe her first word will be 'Livvy'".

"I'm hoping it's not."

There was a knock at the door. Peter was agitated. "It's probably Walter. He's been whining about that stupid hyper-dimensional remote he's lost for weeks."

He opened the door to find someone else there entirely.

"Peter?" Olivia went to Peter and stopped when she saw her. Nina Sharp stood there bearing a large grin as she looked to Peter then Olivia. "Well, well. Doesn't this look like the perfect family picture?"

That's when Olivia realized that she was still holding Gwen. Peter looked to Olivia until she said "it's okay."

"I'll be outside then." As soon as Peter stepped out of the apartment, Nina gracefully made her entrance in.

"Ugh, your new place doesn't scream 'cozy'."

"I'm still working on it," said Olivia. "Now can I ask what you're doing here?"

"Just dropping in to check on my girls. I hear you been having some difficulties since you brought the baby home."

Olivia remembered. "The man who came to get me. He…"

"Oh yes, poor George. He was a good bodyguard but was often careless about his work."

"Is it true that they're not coming?"

"I would never say never Agent Dunham. But yes, there have been complications going on with their side so it will be quite difficult for them to get their hands on you for a while. Nevertheless, one must never be too cautious. I'll have the guard doubled around the area and…"

"No! Please. I just want this to stop now!" Olivia lifted the baby and tried to present her to Nina. "Can't you take her?"

Gwen started to whine. "It's not that simple."

"You can't expect me to actually take care of her until they come! I'm going back to work in two weeks. I can't…"

"Now calm down." Nina pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket. "You don't think I would make you give up everything you love for one little troublemaker, am I right? I have many employees who work in the Boston area. Eight of them are trained body guards…AND nannies."

Olivia reluctantly took the paper from Nina. "Don't hesitate to call the night shift when you're back on Fringe duty again. If they give you any problems, you have my number." Nina then patted the baby very lightly on the head. "Goodbye Gwen, be good for mommy-dear, wont you?"

Nina turned and walked out the door ignoring the cringing of the blonde agent. The only thing that would finally keep Olivia from exploding was when Peter came back in. She was able to breathe a sigh of relief. "Heh," said Peter. "She thinks she can just walk around here like she's responsible for you or something."

"She's not," Olivia said coldly. "I can deal with this myself."

~*~*~*~

It felt like walking into a battle trench, the first day she returned to the Bureau. She could see some of the same glaring eyes, the same whispers and snickers she heard when the baby bump was first exposed. She felt not only like a stranger…but the center of a freak show. She swore she heard one of them whisper, "where's the baby?".

She felt a little more relaxed when she greeted Charlie at his desk. "Long time, Liv. Ready to get back to the freak cases?"

Olivia smirked and said, "I've been looking forward to it actually."

Even Broyles seemed to be more friendly and gracious with her as opposed to the other employees when he walked by. "Welcome back, Agent Dunham."

Soon enough, Olivia was headlining a case again. Everything was like old times. As she, Peter, Walter, and Astrid were working in the lab there seemed to be seldom change about their routine, little talk about the things in the past. Olivia was even happy to see Gene again.

Walter, however, had a way or ruining things.

"Oh Agent Dunham. The ear is almost fully developed. I will have to clean the egg off of it first but we can sew it onto and eventually the ear should mold into place and grow like normal. Doesn't that sound great?"

"Walter," Peter threatened him. "No talking about that around here! Why don't you go back to looking for that remote?"

Astrid looked up. "Um…what the hell is Walter talking about?"

Olivia sighed. She should've known that she couldn't escape from what was waiting for her back at her new apartment. "He's talking about the baby." Olivia always felt uncomfortable about bringing up Gwen in conversation outside the home. Perhaps because she was her reminder that things were different, that things weren't going to be the same for her.

And that reminder would twist in her stomach the moment she walked up to the door of her apartment and heard Gwen's cries on the other side. She tried offering tips to whatever nanny was filling in at the time but they were all instructed by Nina to not take anything. 'Damn her,' Olivia thought. 'She's not even letting me take care of her.'

The nannies one by one were getting agitated with their assignment. Gwen was a force of lungs that they had to deal with while Olivia was working so they were more than happy to run out the door the moment she came home. Gwen continued to cry out until Olivia picked her up. Her silence and her calming really did freaked Olivia out. She seemed to be a little more cooperative when Olivia was tending to her as opposed to the nannies. She didn't know why. There was absolutely no maternal affection place towards Gwen. Olivia was about as caring to her as the hourly-paid nanny…only doing so because it was her job.

Every night, Olivia would put her to bed without saying a word. One would think that she was being cold towards her. But Olivia was only being emotionally distant. It didn't mean that she was cruel to her at all. Olivia did everything for Gwen, held her when she needed it. She relaxed herself if it would get the baby in her arms to relax. That was more than the nannies were paid to do anyway.

The worst day in the midst of all of this mess would come when Olivia went to the doctor's. She had been holding off on her check-up for months since the unpleasant birth. It was all just to make sure she wasn't bleeding to a very slow death on the inside. Then the doctor confirmed the not-so-surprising: the strange goo and the forced birthing did a toll on her uterus. The damage would not allow Olivia to survive another birth or have another pregnancy.

She wanted to hold back the tears until she arrived back at the apartment only to find the large woman swinging the door open and running out looking very frustrated. Gwen was screaming. She was screaming. Olivia stopped the woman. "What's wrong?! Is it Gwen?!"

"You better believe it is," the woman bellowed. "I don't care what Nina's paying me. There's no force in the world able to deal with that demon child!!!"

Olivia tried to stop her from leaving but the woman was too strong and broke from Olivia's grasp. "Wait! Please!" The woman ignored her and went off to her car. Gwen's cries were now echoing spreading outside. Olivia rushed back into the apartment, closing the door.

She couldn't believe it happened again. And when she looked at the paper Nina gave her, Olivia realized that that was the eighth one…

All eight of the nannies walked out on the job.

It was during the worse possible period when calming Gwen became a much difficult chore, especially during the night when she was supposed to be sleeping. Given how red her face was, Gwen was not getting any sleep no matter what Olivia did to induce it.

It was all taking a toll on the both of them.

Since Olivia was working again, Peter barely got to her outside of the lab, but still how could he not at least check in on her once in a while? Whenever he asked how things were with the baby, Olivia would often mumble that it was fine hoping to drop the subject very quickly.

It was around 2 in the morning and Peter only had a few drinks to celebrate completion of the latest case, and Olivia was only living a few blocks away after all. So he was rather surprised, concerned even to find the lights in her apartment window were on and the faint sound of the baby coming from inside. The door being locked, Peter did his usually handy lock-picking work…and stepped into a disaster.

Clothes and diapers were scattered everywhere. There were even a few vomit stains on the carpet. One red looking baby was bawling on Olivia's lap. She was lying there on the couch looking incredibly exhausted, and awful. Her hair was completely frazzled and her shirt had more vomit stains.

She didn't even seem to notice Peter's presence as her eyes were closed, focusing too much on drowning the noise. Peter nudged her until she woke. "Peter?! How did you…"

"How else did I get in?" he said. "I'm surprised 'Livia. Usually you have you gun pointed at the guy's head before he can finish picking your lock."

Olivia turned away looking incredibly embarrassed. Everything was going to hell. "God, she's been crying and screaming. It's been like this for several nights. I can't get her to sleep and all the nannies quit and…"

"Okay, 'Liv. I get it," Peter joked.

"I'm sorry…I just want her to sleep but I can't…"

" Damn. You know I hate to suggest this but I think maybe Walter's got something."

Olivia became curious. "He does?"

"He's made about 30 different sleeping drugs. Maybe he has some sort of baby sleeping pill. I wouldn't suggest it but since you…"

"I'll try it." Olivia got up from the couch. "I don't if it makes the room explode. I'm willing to try anything at this point."

And that was that. Olivia, Peter, and Gwen were all at the Bishops' apartment in a matter of minutes. It took some time for Peter to pull Walter out of bed and put him to work on making a sleeping drug that was safe for the baby to consume. After another long hour, a few drops of drug was mixed into the baby's bottle and Olivia was able to convince Gwen to drink.

The next 10 minutes was slow as the screaming slowly started to die down. Sighs of relief filled the apartment until Gwen was finally asleep.

"That stuff's not permanent, you know," said Peter.

"It'll do for now. But I still have to find someone to watch her and I don't think Nina Sharp has enough nannies or babysitters in the world to take Gwen on."

"Why don't you just bring 'lil Slimy to the lab then? We have enough freaks in there as it is. One more won't kill."

Olivia chuckled. "And what about when I have to go to the Bureau. When I have to go to a crime scene?"

"Have you forgotten that I'm already a full-fledged babysitter? It's part of the low-life position of me being a consultant is that I have no life other than making sure Walter doesn't get other people killed."

"Peter…I can't ask you to do that. That would be too much."

"Or not enough. Liv you already got enough on your plate between clones and alternate worlds and the whacked-out scientist."

"Still…I'm the one who's supposed to take care of her."

Peter sighed. "But then, who's going to take care of you?"

She couldn't fight him on that one. Olivia could never seem to pull it together no matter what kind of routine she tried to put in place. She was out of options and had to accept that her work life and her secret home life had to merge eventually.

Still, she feared for Peter and the "nightmare" he would be putting himself through.

_**-------------------------------**_

_**Ehh, guess I'm stopping there for now. I was gonna end this chapter with a cliffhanger but I can't get my brain to think about how to write what I need to get to that point. I have a free weekend so I'm doing alternating updates between this story and "Growing Up". "Growing Up" gets a new chap tomorrow and EW gets another one on Sunday. Now how cool is that?!!!!**_

_**Note the time jumping, we'll be doing moreso in the next chap.**_


	32. The passage of Time

_**So, big author's note here**__**: I am starting to REALLY hate this fic. I dunno what it is. Maybe it's because I've spent so much of my summer writing it that it's driven me completely insane. Any word I put on here now seems icky or weird or just awkward to me and now I just want this fic to die…well not die a horrible death I've decided. You deserve to see this thing be done and over. Man if I had known before writing that this fic was gonna be this huge in text (or that I would be suddenly shipped into vocational school in the middle of my freakin summer cutting my writing time immensely)…**_

_**So no worries I'm not canceling the fic. In fact, I will be doing the opposite. Rush the hell to get this fic finished! I want this thing done before the Sept 17 season premiere dammit! I don't wanna feel awkward about writing this in the middle of a new season. So here's how I'm gonna do it. "Growing Up in the Dark" will remain on temporary hiatus. I will put all my writing focus onto this story until we're finished. There's still like one or two major storyarcs in this thing left, astounding I know. But we're in the home stretch… The only downside is the possibility of chapters and writing looking a bit rushed. I don't wanna waste time thinking when I could be writing. So please don't hate if the writing in the next chaps start to suck. I got the ending down flat and this fic should end around the chap 40 mark…maybe. Good god is this thing ever long!!!**_

_**Alright, I'll leave ya to reading. Just letting you know what's up.**_

_**-------------------------------**_

"Peh."

Peter crossed his arms. "I don't believe it."

"Well neither do I," said Walter. "That's a very unusual use of constants and vowels for a child's first form of communication."

"Pee."

"Cute." Sarcastic Peter again. "Her first word and it's 'pee'. I'm sure Liv's gonna be proud."

"Pee'a."

Walter seemed intrigued. "This is fascinating. Rare for a child to start developing sounds at this age."

"Pee'a."

Astrid started to snicker.

"What's so funny?" said Peter. "Okay, I mean what's Walter doing that so funny?"

"No," Astrid smiled. "Are you not listening?"

"What?"

Peter opened his ears listening for any form of noise but it was only Gwen's babbling. "Pee'a".

Astrid looked straight at Peter. "I don't think she's trying to say 'pee."

"Pee'r."

The whole lab just went silent. Peter's jaw dropped. "You have GOT to be kidding me."

"Oh son!" Walter hugged Peter. "You're her first word! How astounding!"

"Wow," said Astrid. "Looks like she really likes you."

"I don't think so," said Peter. "Permit me to demonstrate." He picked up Gwen and she started to cry and scream forcing Astrid to cover her ears. After Peter put her down again the screams were reduced but Gwen was still crying.

"Oh no," said Astrid. "She's not gonna stop now!" Astrid went about putting on her earplugs. The things have been a godsend to her since Gwen began making her appearance at the lab.

"Don't feel so bad about it Peter," said Walter. "Some infants have quite an exclusive caretaker preference. You seemed to have preferred me over your mother, you know. She could never get you to calm down no matter how much she hugged and kissed you as for myself you loved me enough to shut up when I told you to."

"Well that's…comforting," said Peter.

Despite the best efforts of the three in the lab, Gwen's tantrums could barely be placed under control. She picked the hours when to scream and yell and when to be quiet. Several professors from upstairs have already filed complaints about the child's wailing disrupting their classes. The best that any of them could do was just ride it out and prayed for it to stop sometime soon.

An hour later, Olivia finally arrived at the lab. "Right on schedule," she said referring to the child's constant crying.

Walter greeted her. "Oh you missed it, Agent Dunham. The baby said Pe'er."

"I missed what?"

"It seems that Gwen just made me her first word," said Peter. "Minus the 't'."

"Wow," she said. Gwen was still crying and Olivia became worried. At first she didn't mind having to see Gwen in the lab since she had no other place to be. She felt indebted to Peter, Walter, and Astrid for whatever trouble the child was causing…especially with the tantrums. But now between noise complaints and disruption of criminal investigations, things could start falling apart in the lab very easily.

The only thing that made any little difference was when Olivia was around. She picked up the child and reluctantly held her close. "Congrats, Peter." She looked at the new ear that Walter had surgically placed on Gwen not too long ago. "The ear looks good, Walter."

As soon as Olivia said that, Gwen seemed to go silent. Walter seemed very intrigued. Astrid gave a sigh of relief taking of her earplugs. "Finally," said Olivia. "But I'm sure it will all come back around in about 10 minutes."

"You know, Agent Dunham," Walter butted in. "I'm beginning to suspect that the child finds your voice rather soothing. I should know. Peter thought his father's voice was rather soothing."

"That's sounds very creepy Walter," said Peter.

"I really don't think so." Olivia looked at the new ear on Gwen's head. "I don't really talk to babies much…more like not at all."

"Are you mad Agent Dunham? How is the child going to development any sense of communication or social structure if you don't have at least a few conversations with her?!"

"Walter," said Peter. "The kid's already talking and Liv's not under any obligation to turn her into a genius. So back off, alright?"

Walter huffed.

~*~*~*~

Upon returning home, Olivia couldn't help but think over and over again about what Walter said. In her opinion, her voice wasn't considered very motherly or comfortable…or maybe it was just her. She had been holding off talking to the child despite what the books and articles said about doing so. It just didn't seem right. Plus talking to someone whose too young to care or understand what you're saying seemed kind of pointless.

As she tried to put Gwen to bed, her tantrum came roaring again. Olivia sighed. It was now 12:30 am. Neighbors were bound to start pounding on the walls again. She didn't want to be dependent on Peter to help her through this. This was something she had to deal with on her own.

She picked Gwen up again and put a little more effort into calming her down. "Hey…keep it down alright."

She flinched when she realized what just slipped out of her mouth. It was so soft and almost inaudible.

But it seemed to have done the trick.

Now Gwen was quieting down and Olivia sighed as the child squealed "meh". She had to accept the reality of the situation. If talking to Gwen at the very least provided some sort of relief, then maybe Olivia would finally get some sleep. It was a tough decision but in a case like this, her principles couldn't win against a screaming kid of this nature.

She placed her in her crib cautiously like anyone would and then gave it a go. "Okay…um…Goodnight Gwen."

"Mah."

Olivia slowly made her way to the door.

"Mah. Mie."

She froze right at the doorframe and turned. Her face turned white from shock. "Whhat? What did you say?"

"Mah. Mie."

Olivia stood there for quite some time. She knew exactly what Gwen was trying to say. And she fled the room. She went straight to the bathroom and slammed the door. Sliding to the floor she just sat there for endless hours looking…feeling petrified.

This wasn't possible. It shouldn't have been possible. Olivia ensured that the term was never used around her. She understood how the baby would start saying "Pe'er" given the amount of time she's spent under his supervision. But this…this was a cruel joke. A constant mocking of the position she was placed in and now there was no stopping it, no going back.

So Olivia just remained there on the floor. She didn't bother to sleep that night. She sat there until the child's next tantrum.

~*~*~*~

Months went on and Gwen's vocabulary increased. It was rather unusual as most children did not develop their first set of words until they were at least a year old. By 8 months she was referring to various names she would hear around the lab "Pe'er", "Wul-der", "Ast-id".

"Mommy."

Olivia tried not to flinch every time she heard her say it.

"Hey, kid," said Peter. "She's not really…"

"Peter," Olivia interrupted. "It's fine, really. Let her have her fun."

Walter had been calculating something on the computer with great excitement. "I am finished with the test results!"

Peter still couldn't believe that Walter got to give the baby an I.Q. test (and moreso that Olivia allowed it). Then again the one who was giving the test was supervised around the clock by Peter and/or Astrid to prevent another infant wiring. And the I.Q. test itself was a standard one made for babies as compromised.

"I still think it's a bit silly to give a kid who can't even stand up yet an I.Q. test."

"Quiet, son!" Walter rubbed his hands in excitement. "It's a very exceptionally high score. I say if the child were of a standard adult age, say around yours Peter…her IQ score would total to…206."

Peter did a double-take. "206?! Oh nice one, Walter. Real funny."

"Isn't your IQ 190 Peter?" asked Astrid. "Wouldn't that put Gwen's IQ above yours?"

"No!" said Peter. "Walter that's impossible. You can't possibly get me to believe that thing over there has a higher IQ than me."

"These tests don't lie, Peter."

Peter looked over at the baby. She was sitting in one of the chairs sucking one foot. "She's taking that test again in another year."

Olivia smirked when Peter wasn't looking. She had to admit that it was quite amusing for Peter to be jealous of Gwen being so gifted. The funny part was that very little was put forth into mentally nurturing the child. Perhaps it was being around the lab so much that brought forth her potential. Who knew?

Gwen saw her look in her direction and took her foot out of her mouth, smiling greatly. Her arms were flailing out in excitement, as they reached out to Olivia.

The look on Olivia's face turned very quickly.

Moments passed and she didn't make any motion of response. Gwen was becoming too attached to Olivia. And it wasn't a dependency thing either. She was demanding of Olivia's attention more than anyone else and now that she could do a little more than just cry, it was starting to scare Olivia how far this child was gonna go with their 'relationship'.

"Mommy?"

Olivia slowly walked away from her instantly feeling a huge weight of guilt. Too many times she wanted to scream at her the truth of her origins (how she was nothing more than a toy of science with Olivia being used as a disposable vessel). But what child could possibly understand that. This whole mother-daughter notion was just naïve fun to Gwen. But Olivia needed her to understand the reality of the situation. Otherwise this was going to be a very unpleasant end when the time comes.

Peter watched her walked away from Gwen and retread to the solitude of the office, he thought about peaking in on Olivia. But instead he turned to Gwen and said, "it's nothing against you, Slimy." Gwen looked very upset. "It's just a lot of complicated stuff, your 206 IQ wouldn't understand."

~*~*~*~

Olivia grumbled as she heard the screams. Gwen was close to 11 months, still over a year away from entering the terrible twos. But for Olivia, it was already happening. It was around this time that Olivia's calming voice seemed to be failing Gwen. For quite a while she had been screaming "UH!" or "SHUD!" in her sleep. Olivia didn't understand what either one of those meant. But it was all that would reign in Olivia's ears every time she tried to put Gwen down for sleep.

But this time, she didn't know if she could take it anymore. Neighbors were getting angrier. Gwen would never sleep and thus would become agitated easily. But Olivia would get the blunt of all of that plus her sleep was affecting her FBI work. The stress and tension were high now.

She angrily went into the baby's room and yelled "calm down! You need to calm down!"

The child wasn't listening. Instead she continued to wail and grab the bars on her crib, shaking them relentlessly.

"Gwen!"

"SHUDDUP!!!"

For a moment, it almost seem like the baby was about to surrender as one arm let go of the bars but instead, Gwen was leaning back to grab a toy in her crib…and threw at Olivia.

"What is wrong with you?!" Olivia went over to try to pry her fingers from the bars. "Why are you acting like this?!" She didn't mean to be forceful as the baby was still getting out of control but what else could she have done.

Suddenly, Olivia started to feel a sting of pain. She put her hand to her neck. The pain got worse and when she took her hand off…blood. Too much blood.

She quickly put her hand back on the wound to slow the bleeding but the pain kept getting intense, as Olivia felt it…the cut was getting bigger.

Olivia looked at Gwen who was now rolling around in her crib kicking and screaming unaware that this was once done before…Ella. Somehow a similar cut was given to Ella and she blamed it on the baby. Now Olivia understood why.

"Stop it! Please!" She begged the baby. The cut on Olivia's neck was getting longer and deeper.

"STOP!!!!!!!!!!!"

A sudden crash. The lights in the room got dimmer.

Even the baby quieted down.

Olivia had never screamed so loud in her life and now she was trying to catch her breath from such vocal force. She looked to the lamp on the dresser. The bulb had exploded with such a shear force and now glass was everywhere on the nightstand.

Gwen screams had diminished to a whimper. Her eyes fixed heavily on the broken lamp and then at her. She stumbled back in her crib and just sat there…quietly whining.

Olivia had to run to the bathroom once she realized that the cutting stopped. She quickly cleaned off the blood on her neck and got the first aid kit. Thank god, it wasn't too deep, nor did it get to her breathing. It was just a lovely long cut on the side of her neck going up to the shoulder blade. She applied as much gauze as she could until the bleeding began to go away.

'_Oh my god'._

She looked into the mirror terrified at her own realization. She had broken the lamp. Her anger and frustration had caused that lamp to explode all by itself. And Gwen…she saw it happen.

It couldn't be and yet it would explain too much. She could've inherited it from her somehow. Or maybe it was made in her genes to have it. But could it be true. Was Cortexiphan genetic?

She could hear Gwen crying in the other room. All Olivia could think about was the night Rachel had kicked them out of her house. Gwen was called a freak baby and rightfully so…

Then again…it could've been because Olivia was a freak herself.

She walked back into the baby's room and approached Gwen. Her cries were softer now but sounded…sadder. Olivia didn't know if this was part of an emotional stage in Gwen's development or not. For some reason, this cry seemed very different.

Olivia started to feel strange. Too many emotions were surfacing. Her face was turning red. A part of knew why she was losing it. Why she was crying now along with the baby.

"Gwen?" Olivia picked her up and took her over to the rocking chair she was given. Gwen was still very upset in a sad sounding way.

"Mommy. Bad."

Gwen's hand reached up to the gauze bandage on Olivia's neck. Olivia put her hand to her mouth in disbelief.

Babies at her age normally did not feel such complex emotions such as guilt yet nothing was impossible now.

Gwen wasn't calling her mommy 'bad'…she was calling herself 'bad'. The 10-month-old child knew that she had hurt Olivia…and she was crying from regret.

"No…" said Olivia. "You didn't mean it. You didn't mean to hurt me, did you?"

She pulled Gwen closer to her chest as she continued to cry. The tears of regret that Gwen had was nothing compared to what was building inside of Olivia . It was hitting her very hard and yet she felt like she deserved it. She had been so selfish…a selfish heartless woman to this child because of things that were out of her control. She deep down had blamed this baby for everything that happened to her. Gwen was the clone of a madwoman…but she was still a child…a very misunderstood child. And Olivia, should've understood that better than anyone.

She didn't deserve Gwen now. She didn't deserve this newfound urge to comfort her more. Gwen had been denied too much of Olivia's maternal instincts and chances were Olivia would never to make it up to her for it.

But for now, it wasn't about what Olivia deserved or what she could've done better. This was about meeting a certain need that Gwen needed at this very instant.

"Shh. It's okay." Olivia leaned her back showing her the broken lamp on the nightstand. "See that?" She took a deep exhale, almost like finally taking a brick to the window when she finally says it. "Mommy did that."

Olivia laughed through her tears. There really was no going back now.

"Mommy's a freak, too."

_**-------------------------------**_

Hooway!! Liv and baby are finally bonding through psychologically eff'd up emotions and Fringey-like behaviors!!! At least I hope that's what you got from it. ;) Review time!


	33. Voices are calling

_**Well, this is something I just have to say due to the amount of reviews on my last chapter. Thank you, thank you, thank you for showing your support for this fic and for being understanding of the mental exhaustion it puts me through when writing. Heh, it's really difficult for me to write a lot in a small amount of time cause I get too distracted easily then I will go off and do other things and stray away too long. I'm pretty sure I have undiagnosed ADHD, but then again any writer will use that excuse…ha!**_

_**I still feel awkward about writing…maybe I'm losing my fanfic vibe. I have to keep telling myself, "it's just a fanfic" about a 1000 times per minute while writing. As you can see fluffy stuff like this is not my specialty but I enjoy reading others' fluff for the fun of it. Heh.**_

_**This chap is pretty long while the other real short due to the fact that chaps 33 and 34 were written as one but I couldn't find a proper cut off to make the chaps look even, so I decided to do my usual cliffhanger deal for both…and it's ALL GOOD!!!**_

_**Try not to complain about any grammar/spelling errors you come across in these two chaps as I am too mentally exhausted to go back and fix at the moment.**_

_**And now…**_

_**-------------------------------**_

Gradually, Peter started to notice the change though he never thought to ask questions. Instead, he stood back admiring the changes he had seen. Granted, he did have a deeper desire to step into the scene a little bit closer, but he knew that this more about them than it was about him.

Olivia was no longer cold and indifferent towards Gwen. She was able to crack a smile at her no matter what nonsense the kid was up to. Every time she hugged her now, it was much more affectionate, much more meaningful.

When the hard cases were over, Olivia and Gwen would get out into the world making any and all free time theirs. The end of a hard workday went from being the most dreaded to being a relieving feeling.

But perhaps hearing Olivia refer to herself as "mommy" when she talked to Gwen…yup that would do it. They really were like mother and daughter now…very twisted mother and daughter, but still…

The time that Olivia would spend bonding with Gwen was also about learning about this curious strange human clone who had too many frightening abnormalities. Although Olivia was gentle and very caring towards Gwen, there was still plenty of fits and tantrums. Olivia assumed this was all part of Gwen being a typical 1-year-old.

As for the massive cut that Olivia got on her neck, she felt uncomfortable telling anyone 100% what had happened. She told Walter and Peter that it was a Gwen-related accident (huge emphasis on "accident") but did not share her theories that Gwen may have inherited Cortexiphan from her. If she had done so, she would've imagined what kind of sick experiments Walter would've had planned for her.

And then there was still the matter of the Guinevere Cult. She hadn't forgotten it. How could she when that was the one thing that was destined to some day bring all of this to an abrupt end? Looking back, perhaps Gwen's eventual departure was a big factor in why Olivia didn't want to be close to her to begin with. Feeling and being a little more mature about the whole situation, Olivia knew that this was going to happen someday and when it did…well…she would have to accept it, get over with it, then mourn her losses, and finally move on.

Sometimes at night, when she is alone, Olivia would struggle with her tear-soaked pillow to push the thoughts of the future away. She was gonna be in for a world of hurt when that day would come.

For now…all she could do for herself, for Gwen, was just to enjoy the new relationship between them.

~*~*~*~

"Gwen! Get off!"

The child ignored Peter's pleas and continued to laugh and giggle and bounce. She had gotten herself in the one place Peter didn't expect her to be on her own…riding on top of Gene's back.

Olivia was going to kill him.

"Stop that!" Peter pleaded. "Just stop jumping!"

"Ride Gene! Ride Gene! YAY!!!!!"

Gene was getting very agitated kicking heels at the floor angrily. This has quickly turned into very dangerous situation and it wouldn't take much for Gwen to be forced off the bovine before Peter could reach her safely.

At the same time, he was half-tempted to forget about the kid and go after the slip of paper in her hand that prompted this chase around the lab to begin with. She had refused to let it go since their outing earlier that day but it hold too many secrets that Peter needed to get rid of before Olivia got here.

He reached an arm out and Gwen scooted slightly. She screamed when Gene legs gave in and the cow began to rest itself down on the floor. Fortunately Gwen managed to brace herself so she didn't fall.

But before Peter could grab her, Gwen had slipped off of Gene's resting form from the other side and gave chase around the lab once more.

In an instance, she had completely disappeared from view though her nonstop giggling was a safe indicator that she was still in the lab…just hiding.

"Ha. Ha. Ha." Peter's sarcasm changed to serious. "Okay, Gwen this REALLY isn't funny anymore! I want that piece of paper back now!"

"I LIKE FUN-NY!"

Peter walked past the couch that Walter was sleeping on (no help from him to deal with this kid). Gwen had to be hiding on the other side of the lab. Peter opened all the cabinets, looked under the tables, pried open boxes but she was nowhere to be seen.

Unknown to him however, Gwen was already on the move with the slip of paper still crumpled in her hands. She climbed up the stairs and fumbled her way over to the office.

Astrid didn't notice that the door to the office had open as she was too absorbed in her paperwork. It wasn't until she looked up and saw Gwen opening one of the large file drawers that Astrid took noticed and got spooked.

The drawer had been emptied out from work on an earlier case weeks ago so Gwen was able to climb in before Astrid could even move. Gwen put her finger to her mouth and said "shh…don't tell Pe'er."

Astrid, far from being an expert on children, did not know what to do. The drawer managed to close Gwen in and a few seconds later, Peter walked into the office.

Before another word was spoken Astrid quietly pointed to the large bottom file drawer as her eyes went back to her paperwork.

Peter smiled has he put his hand on the drawer and pulled it open.

"Gotchya…ow!"

He fell back to the floor shock at Gwen's sudden poking of his eyes. Her laughter and giggles seemed to be mocking Peter endlessly as he sat there his hand on his eye.

Gwen quickly jumped out when she heard the door to the lab open.

"MOMMY!"

Something had wrapped itself around Olivia's leg just moments after she stepped into the lab. "Whoa. Where did you come from?"

Peter came out of the lab, his hand still on his eye. "Don't ask," was all he could say.

Olivia wanted to kneel down but Gwen's hug was bracing her from being able to stand, let alone move. She lifted her leg as much as she could and looked down on Gwen. "So…what did you do with Peter and Walter today?"

Gwen had an unusual reply, like she did with everything. "PONIES!"

Peter had to stop the sweat from coming. "Oh, yeah…pony farm. You know little girls like their ponies."

"Air…Ki…ka."

Olivia looked down on Gwen confused. The sweat on Peter's face was beginning to show. "What?"

Gwen reached her fist out. "Air Ki-ka!" Olivia reached out her hand to take the crumpled piece of paper from her tiny one. Peter could only curse himself (and the kid) as Olivia looked at it. Sure enough the piece of paper had "Air Kicker" written in bold print.

"A betting slip, Peter?" She looked at Peter rolling her eyes as his face turned red in embarrassment. "You took Gwen to a horse-racing track?"

"Only for an hour," said Peter defensively. "Fine, three hours."

"And did this 'Air Kicker' horse win?"

"What do you think?"

"It wasn't all loss, Agent Dunham," Walter greeted them from his sofa-slumber. "I won this free pair of Crocs."

"No you didn't, Walter," said Peter. "You found those Crocs just lying around."

"Well they're quite comfy regardless. I do hate having to wash my feet to address odor complaints all the time."

Olivia sighed. "Did you at least keep her on the leash?" In her efforts to become a better guardian to Gwen, one of Olivia's few regrets was that she had to put a child leash on her, all because Gwen had been developing too many habits of screaming, kicking, running off, and sometimes biting random people she would encounter.

Peter ran a hand through his hair. "For…as long as I could." Which really meant 'for not very long'.

On cue, it seemed, Gwen had let go of Olivia and was crying and fussing again.

A low grumble came from Peter. "She still hasn't gotten out of this phase, has she?"

With her leg free of Gwen, Olivia was able to bend down to calm her screaming. "It's only been a little over a year, Peter. She's gonna keep doing it."

"Yeah, and by then, she'll have done more damage to the lab than Walter can do in 2 lifetimes." Peter looked around at the lab at the discarded books and scattered papers that Gwen had been responsible for earlier that day. He sighed. "I might not know who that kid's biological mother is but I'm pretty sure her dad's Satan."

Olivia wasn't paying attention. She was focused on Gwen as she noticed something unusual about her current tantrum. And even Peter began to notice. "What are you?"

Olivia took her hands to Gwen's arms. Gwen had her hands pressed against her ears and refused to let go. "Gwen, what's wrong? Why are you…"

"SHUDDUP!" Gwen cried and began to kick.

"Is she telling you to shut up?" asked Peter.

"I don't know. Gwen." Olivia grabbed Gwen and tried to get her to pay attention to her. "Do your ears hurt?"

"Hear-y!"

"Are they hurting? Is that it?"

"Hear-y! Stop hear-y!"

Olivia and Peter were now incredibly worried. "I can go get some earache medicine real quick."

"No," Olivia said. "Wait." She watched as Gwen was now writhing on the floor in her tantrum. "Gwen…are you hearing something?"

"I wan'em shuddup! Shuddup!"

Olivia turned to Peter. "I don't think her ears are hurting. She's been doing this for a long time." Olivia was kicking herself mentally for never noticing until now how often Gwen would try to close her ears. "She's hearing something we can't hear."

Walter, who had been wandering around the lab, called out "an abnormal development of high-pitch sensitive hearing. Hearing high frequencies that no human being could hear…but animals can."

Peter scoffed. "Walter, I highly doubt that's what it is."

"Well." Walter pulled out a strange whistle. "Only one way to be sure…"

"WALTER!" Olivia and Peter both called out at the same. Peter rushed over to stop his father while Olivia quickly went to close Gwen's ears tighter. They both knew that if Gwen had developed a higher-pitch frequency hearing, that Walter blowing on a dog whistle could've actually hurt Gwen.

"You almost made her deaf!" Peter swiped the dog whistle from Walter. "You see why I don't trust you with testing anything on her?"

Olivia coaxed Gwen. "Gwen, can you hear mommy?" Gwen looked at Olivia and smiled. A sigh of relief. "She's fine now."

"Tak-ee," Gwen whined.

"Talking?" Olivia asked. "You hear talking?"

"Stop!!!" Gwen was swinging her head wildly from side to side.

"Whoa," said Peter. "You think she's hearing voices? In her head?"

It was exactly what Olivia was thinking. "Do you remember what you told me about Guinevere looking into my thoughts? Hearing my every word? That was when I was pregnant. But now…it's all on her." She tried to hug Gwen. "I think…"Olivia sighed. "I think Walter should test her."

After about an hour, Walter and Astrid had the testing device prepped, the same one Walter tried to use on the baby shortly after she was born. Suction cups connected to wires were placed on her head, but Gwen didn't seemed to mind. She was giggling because it was quite ticklish against her skin.

And while Peter kept his eyes on Walter and his device like a hawk, Olivia had become far too trusting of Walter if it would help Gwen.

The brain activity according to the device was steady, it began to pick up as soon as Gwen started to whine again.

"Walter did it ever occur to you that maybe it's your machine that's making her cry?" Peter was convinced that was the case.

"But this reinstates what I theorized before," said Walter. "The child's upset over the amount of brainwave traffic in her head. This Guinevere woman is trying to send messages into the mind of her clone."

Olivia tried to calm Gwen as she began to cry and shake her head. "But she's just a child," said Olivia. "She can't handle taking in another person's thoughts along with everything else. Isn't there anything we can do for her?"

"Well," said Walter. "I suppose if one had ever done an experiment on two clones sharing one mind, and I do not refer to myself, I'm certain…yes I'm quite certain…the best way to do so would be to eliminate the other half of the network."

"Hey if we knew where this Guinevere person is, I would be all over it," said Peter. "But for now, we'll have to use something else."

"More sleeping drugs?" said Walter. "I suppose I could…"

"No drugs! Don't you think she's gotten enough?"

"Well, the only other thing I could think of would be to get inside of the brain activity inside of the child's head and…"

"No, Walter! No weird devices, tanks, or brain machines!"

Olivia hugged Gwen again and managed to calm her down once more. She was mentally willing her to go blank and that's when she realized…

"Walter?"

"Yes Agent Dunham. Are you giving me permission to mix more drugs for our little blue friend?"

"No, Walter." Olivia assured him. "I think it will be okay. I think I can get into her head and get her to calm down or I think I can find a way to get her mind under control."

Peter became suspicious. "Really?"

"Yes," said Olivia. She was still too scared to tell them. Suppose the voices in Gwen's brain knew. "Just trust me on this one."

~*~*~*~

Recalling how she finally gave in to Gwen, and finally accepted her as part of her life, Olivia decided on an unusual method for helping Gwen.

Sometimes the little girl feared that she would use her special ability again and hurt her mother. But Olivia trusted her, especially since very few toddlers could express and understand such deep emotions like guilt. It was important that Olivia taught her to not be scared. And in order to do that, Olivia would have to face acceptance of her own abilities.

They worked in secret: sometimes in home and sometimes in the office of the lab when the others weren't looking. Olivia would often entertain Gwen, make her feel okay about her unusual abilities, by showing off her own.

Gwen was quite happy and cheery when Olivia displayed her finest hour of using the power of her own mind…by getting a book to flip through pages on its own.

"Yay flip!"

"You wanna try it?" Olivia asked as she put Gwen on her lap. "No, you can't use your hands." Olivia pulled Gwen's arm away from the book. "You have to picture the book in your mind. Come on, you can do it."

Curiosity allowed Gwen to take in interested in getting the page to move on its own. She got as far as seeing the corner of a page lift itself up a bit…until Gwen's mind became exhausted and the page didn't move. She felt quite upset.

"Hey, it's alright," Olivia assured her. "It's just going to take some time."

Olivia willed the page to stand up on its own and Gwen felt better again cheering her mother on.

The door to the office opened. "I think we're finished for the day."

Olivia quickly shoved the book closed before Peter could see. "What were you doing?"

"Nothing," said Olivia. "Just showing Gwen something."

"Heh. Weirdos."

Gwen stuck her tongue out at Peter. Olivia got up and Gwen went to hugging her leg again, causing Olivia to drag her out of the office. It was incredibly creepy how attached this kid was to her. Slowly they made their way out of the lab. Peter would always walk Olivia and Gwen to the parking lot at night even though he would still be stuck in that basement for several more hours with Walter wanting to tanker around with something.

"I was thinking," said Peter as they walked. "Drinks at your place later?"

Olivia felt the weight on her leg get heavier as Gwen was starting to fall asleep. "Sorry," she smiled at Peter. "I'm too tired, looks like she is too."

Peter sighed. Of course Olivia would be tired, the kid was sucking all the energy out of her. He enjoyed seeing Olivia be a mother to Gwen, especially when he got to help, but…Gwen seemed to be consuming far too much of Olivia's life now more than he wanted her to. It used to be back in the day Olivia would never say no to a drink especially on nights as young as this. He understood but at the same time…he couldn't help but feel a little jealous of Gwen. Was it enough that she had to have 16 more IQ points than him? Did she have to take Olivia away from him, too? After everything he's done for both of them?

It use to be that for Peter, making good with kids and charming their mothers was a smooth, easy, task. Then again, he never thought he would have to deal with a child the likes of Gwen…who was more animal in behavior than human clone. She had now crossed the line of becoming the one child that Peter would come to despise…but he would try to only despise her just slightly.

"Yeah of course," he said sounding a little disappointed.

"Maybe tomorrow…" said Olivia. "You and Walter can come by for dinner. I can make you something and get some Kessler."

"Hey, you don't have to that." Peter was all smiles.

"Well, I've been meaning to find some sort of way to repay you and your father for watching Gwen all the time for me."

"It's nothing, really."

"Did you ever consider letting Astrid watch her once in a while so you and Walter could have a break?"

"That has been very tempting," said Peter. "But then you would have to double her pay raise, won't you?"

Olivia laughed. "Yeah, you're right."

He looked at Olivia with his infectious charm. "Walter and I will be there."

Once they arrived at Olivia's car, they seemed to stare at each other for moments, Olivia barely able to mutter a 'thank you' from her lips.

She turned to face Gwen who was still hugging her leg. "Gwen, I can't drive us home if you don't let go of mommy's leg."

Finally Gwen came free and Olivia picked her up and put her in the back seat of the car. A slight move of her arm as she was done and her elbow had grazed itself softly against what she swore was the back of Peter's hand. Peter had gotten too "unintentionally" too close for comfort and stepped back slightly when he realized it. Olivia tried to keep a straight back as she turned to face him. God help her, if she couldn't keep her face from going red.

"Well," she said. "I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight Peter."

Gwen called out from inside the car. "Nite, Pe'er."

"Yeah," he said. "Night to you too, Slimy…Liv."

Olivia exchanged one mind-melting smile with Peter as she got into her car and drove away. Peter stood there and watched them drive off looking forward to tomorrow the awkward mom and child pair.

~*~*~*~

After a long exhausted day, Olivia thought she could easily walk Gwen all the way to her crib to put her down. But she was still already active and awake by the time they walked into the door of the apartment.

"Me go!" Gwen said.

"Straight to your room," Olivia said as she put Gwen down. Much like so many days in the lab, Gwen was released and set off zipping down the hall to her room with glee.

Olivia dropped her keys on the nightstand by the front door. She froze when something caught her eye. The little drawer on that nightstand was ajar, not closed all the way.

She became incredibly alarmed.

Slowly she pulled the drawer.

The gun she kept in there was no longer there.

Olivia grabbed the gun from her coat and ran down the hall to Gwen's room. "Gwen!"

She ran into the room gun ready. Gwen stumbled back in confusion and fear. "Mommy?"

"Oh, thank god." Without thinking of anything else, Olivia rushed to hold Gwen. She could see the drawer of Gwen's nightstand with a similar drawer ajar. Pulled out and it was empty.

That was two guns that Olivia had in the apartment…now missing.

Before Gwen knew it, Olivia had picked her up and opened the closet. "Hey," Olivia whispered to Gwen, as she put her in. "Gwen I need you to be really quiet and wait in here okay?"

"But mommy…"

"Shh! Stay." Olivia made her command soft but serious. She got up and looked at Gwen making sure that she remained in the closet like she ordered her to before slightly closing the door.

The moment Olivia turned around, she whipped out her gun in all-protective mode.

She pointed her gun as she carefully stepped out into the hall. She turned to her right aiming it towards the direction of her bedroom.

A sudden force had thrown her against the wall.

Gwen screamed from her hiding place in the closet..

In a swift sudden move, the man had disarmed Olivia before she could make another move. The attacker then threw Olivia to the ground.

"Hiding guns in drawers? I would expect an experienced FBI Agent as yourself to be a lil more clever, especially around a wanted man like myself."

_**-------------------------------**_

To see who the man is in the apartment, click the next arrow button. Cliffhangers…you know you miss 'em. ;)


	34. The first departure

To answer Time Chaser's question about the title. Well…you know how some authors write in their story summaries about how much they suck at summaries? Well, I hardly ever have a problem with summaries…but TITLES! Man that's another story. Difficult as hell for me to come up with title and character names. Technically speaking I wonder something if I should've called it "untitled preggers fic". That would've sure as heck gotten readers like mad. Heh.

_**But yeah, hopefully the origins of the title should come into play in the next few chaps but don't expect much. It's part of the little detail background stuff of the story I wasted too much time with earlier in the fic and the intentional story direction has changed dramatically since then. So chances are "Eternal Weaving" will remain a random generic title that has absolutely no sense to be had here. Heh. **_

_**And now, back to the cliffhanger galore.**_

_**-------------------------------**_

Olivia looked up.

"Ziegler."

Quickly needing to escape her predicament, Olivia kicked the gun from Ziegler's hands but it landed far away from her to reach. Instead, Olivia retreated back into Gwen's bedroom.

She was disarmed and helpless but Olivia was ready to fight regardless as she made a barrier between Ziegler and the closet Gwen was hiding in. "Stay the hell back!"

Ziegler opened his coat where he carried the two guns he had taken from Olivia's apartment. He carefully took the guns out and set them aside, waving his hands. "This is no time for fighting me, Agent Dunham. You know why I'm here."

"No I don't!" Olivia deep down had a feeling that this was it…whether or not she wanted to believe it.

"Don't lie. There would be only one time I would come and that would be to inform you. They've managed to fix the portal. Mark and his scum from the Guinevere Cult will be on their way over to this reality as we speak. And don't think they won't know how to find you."

Olivia gave Ziegler a look of defiance. "I'm not afraid. Let them come."

Ziegler chuckled. "Agreed. They may come after I take their little clone child where they can't find it." He tried to walk over past Olivia toward the closet where he knew Gwen was hiding but Olivia had quickly responded, sending a blow to his ribs. Ziegler punched her back in the face.

"Do you not understand?!" said Ziegler. "We can't let them get their hands on the weapon! They are the enemy and our only chance is to keep the child as far away from them as possible."

"Who says you can just come in here and take her?" Olivia demanded.

"I'm am finishing William Bell's work!"

"He's been dead for more than year," said Olivia. "And you disappeared on him. You don't have any right to be trusted!"

"Fine then," Ziegler managed to reach one of the guns he had put aside and pointed it to Olivia's head. "I am not leaving this place without the child. If I must kill you to do it, then at least I will have spared you from a worse fate of dying at the cult's hands."

Before Ziegler could pull the trigger, Olivia called out "I know what happened to your wife!!!"

Ziegler raised a brow at her.

"They tried to make her a carrier," Olivia was shaking from fear deep down, for her own safety and for Gwen's but she wasn't gonna let this jerk notice. "And they killed her because she failed. You think killing another carrier will bring her back?"

"Don't insult me," Ziegler sneered.

"I'm only telling you the facts. You want Gwen to save this world? You want her to bring justice to your wife? You can take her but don't expect her to cooperate with you. Don't expect her to use her abilities for you. She'll only do that for me. I'm the only one who can calm her, the only one who can help her."

"Then what do you suggest be done?"

Olivia sighed. This wasn't an easy decision but it was the most logical one. "If you plan to take Gwen…if you need her to save this world then…you have to take me with you."

Ziegler lowered his gun and chuckled. "You're attached. After everything that child has done to you, you've become attached? What irony." He put the gun in his coat pocket once more. "So you come with us to the saefhouse and become the child's caretaker? I suppose that will make my job easier. But how do I know I can trust you?"

"Because," she said smiling. "Gwen trusts me."

To prove it, Olivia slowly made her way to the closet door and slightly opened it to reveal a red-faced teary-eyed Gwen. "It's okay, baby," she said picking Gwen up and holding her. She managed to rock her and sooth her in a record amount of time that even had Ziegler impressed.

"Are you seriously considering giving up many years of your life in hiding and isolation away from everything and everyone you know? Just to remain with this 'thing' you call yours?"

Olivia didn't take very kindly to the word "thing" but she told him sincerely. "Yes…yes I would."

Ziegler turned away from the pair and looked out into the hall again. "The light blue Cadillac, under the bridge across the street from this complex. You have ten minutes. Pack only what you need. And DO NOT inform anyone of your departure. We need every advantage we can get to get to the safehouse."

With that, Ziegler walked out of the apartment.

Olivia began to pack a small duffle bag while Gwen was waiting in the crib out of fear.

"Where we going?"

Olivia kept packing. "I don't know…I don't know…"

She stopped to think. What in the world was she doing trying to do running away from all of this? Why couldn't she accept that Gwen had to leave? It came too soon for Olivia but then again any mom wouldn't have been prepared for this.

Her second thought was how could she trust Ziegler? The man had abducted the Bishops and nearly killed Peter in Antarctica. How did she know that she and Gwen would be safe with this man?

She didn't.

But her other options just wouldn't cut it. Deep down, she feared death second to losing Gwen.

If having to leave everything behind would give them a chance, then she didn't have a choice.

Going against Ziegler's wishes, Olivia flipped open her cell phone.

~*~*~*~

Peter was still stuck in the lab waiting for Walter to finish up, and damn it was already past midnight. His phone rang and cracked a smile when he saw the caller ID. "Livvy?"

"Peter."

There was shaking…nervousness in her voice. That was not good. "You okay?"

A few stuttering breathes and then. "They're here, Peter…they're coming…I told Harold Ziegler I'd bring Gwen and go with him. He's waiting for me…"

"Whoa, Liv! Are you crazy?!"

"I don't know what's about to happen…I'm just calling to say goodbye…just in case."

"No, Liv! I'm coming over there right now. DON'T go anywhere!"

"I'm sorry," Olivia sighed into the phone almost pathetically. "Goodbye, Peter."

"LIV!" Peter was already out of the lab, abandoning his father before Olivia hung up the phone.

Olivia finished packing her things (with a couple of guns to boot) and picked up Gwen. "Time to go, Gwen."

They walked out of the door, together, unsure as to whether they would ever step foot in this apartment ever again.

They headed straight for the underbridge where the Cadillac was waiting for them. Gwen was whining and whimpering when she got into the backseat of the car.

Ziegler got annoyed. "Will you shut her up before she summons them straight to us."

"Sorry," Olivia said coldly as she was hugging Gwen.

Before Ziegler could start the car there was a faint explosion.

"Sh*t."

A blast of light flashed infront of them. A bomb had gone off…a few feet away from the car thank god.

Ziegler grabbed his military rifle and fled the car. He rushed over to the side of the bridge and began attacking the several oncoming vehicles. The rifle shot at the tires of the cars sending them crashing and swerving.

Meanwhile, Olivia grabbed Gwen and snuck out from the backseat. There was no safe reason for them to remain in the middle of this battle.

Gwen's scream could be heard down the street, as Olivia ran with her in her arms. The path in the underbridge let to a nearby park. Even as they got farther away, it seemed the fighting was getting closer and more intense. They stopped when Olivia saw a stone bench along the pathway.

"Get under there." Olivia pushed Gwen underneath the bench, which provided a small alcove for her to lie in. She took the baby blanket she had wrapped around Gwen for the plan she had in mind

"Mommy?"

"Hey, you have to stay here, okay? Don't make a sound. And don't come out for anyone except for Peter. You got that?"

It was a heavy demand and Olivia was afraid that Gwen wasn't going to stick by it given how scared she was. But through her tears, Gwen nervously replied, "yes mommy."

They could now hear voices getting closer, multitudes. They were coming.

Olivia turned to Gwen unable to hold back her own tears. "I love you Gwen…I love you so much."

In a moment, Olivia turned from the bench and fled.

"Mommy!"

Gwen was about to run out after her mother but for once in her life, she felt a compelling urge to obey. In her short little life, she had never felt like a good daughter to her mother, but for once maybe, she could prove that she could do something right…and Olivia sounded like she really needed her to do this.

So she stayed…and waited.

One of them had spotted Olivia running down the hill, carrying something in her arms. "There!"

A large number of people from all different directions began popping out from the trees and chased after Olivia under she was finally brought down by a shot to the ankle.

They quickly got to her and turn her over to retrieve the bundle in her arms. The bundle was nothing but a bunch of twigs wrapped in a baby blanket.

They had been duped.

Hearing the sirens, the men had run out of options. They were deciding on a course of action.

It was the last thing Olivia would remember seeing. Her last thought was a rather ironic one. The night before Gwen was born, Walter had told her that she would one day be doing this…make this kind of risk and sacrifice on behalf of her own child. And Gwen truly was 'her own child' no matter what these assholes were here for.

They didn't even see the slight smile on her face as her body numbed into darkness.

~*~*~*~

Gwen had done it. She had waited under that bench like her mother told her to, despite the fact that she had wetted her diaper out of extreme fear. At least she had done what her mother asked.

But now she was feeling very sore and still very frightened. There were too many noises approaching, sirens and the like. She hoped that mommy would be one of the voices she would hear very soon.

"Liv?!"

Gwen poked her head out. That voice sounded awfully familiar.

"Liv?!"

It was getting closer and closer. She had to be careful not to come out right away. Finally a pair of feet appeared in Gwen's vision.

"Liv?"

The voice sounded painfully desperate and was finally taking a different approach. "Gwen? Gwen? It's me…"

Gwen reached out her hands to the foot that was there. She looked up at the face and seemed very happy. "Pe'er?!"

Peter bent down to pull Gwen out. "Hey Slimy. Come on. You're going to be okay. It's over now." It was a relief…such an amazing relief that he had found her. He even hugged her as he picked her up.

"Where's mommy?"

It was a question that was gonna rip at his heart over and over. "I'm not sure…" he said sadly. Quickly he tried to make himself sound optimistic. "But hey, I'm sure she couldn't have gotten very far. Huh? You can wait with me for now."

"Oh fine," said Gwen despite her disinterest in Peter. Peter had carried Gwen to a crime scene. Several bombs leaving damage in the street. The bodies were already collecting.

Thank goodness Gwen was already asleep by the time Peter put her in the backseat of the Vista Cruiser. He went back over to where Broyles and Charlie had already made their presence known.

"We got about 12 people dead," said Broyles. "No Dunham among them."

Peter was both relieved and crushed by this news. "What…what about the park?"

"We're searching it now," said Charlie. "But we think that the cult members who aren't among the dead managed to get away."

"Maybe," said Peter. "They could've taken her with them?"

"That's something we can't be too sure of," said Broyles. "In the meantime, we'll do our best to find her. She's strong and can take care of herself. Remember that." Broyles had to attend to investigating the blue Cadillac that had been left behind and the fact that Ziegler had once again disappeared from the scene with his life still intact.

Charlie turned to Peter. "So…is the kid staying with you?"

Peter was trying too hold to hold it together but his whole world was just about ready to fall apart on him. "Yeah…she can stick with me."

"That's good you know," Charlie assured him. "Exactly what Liv would've wanted." He then left Peter without another word.

Peter returned to the Vista Cruiser, with Gwen still safe and sound asleep in the back. He wasted minutes just sitting there in the driver's seat, hands to his face trying to determine who needed to be cursed more: the child in the backseat for being the center of all of this chaos…or himself for having failed Olivia once more.


	35. The second departure

_**Oh god! This chapter was supposed to have been done two days ago allowing me to make full use of Labor Day weekend but stupid family stuff sucked away at my precious time so sorry about that. Fun fact: I skipped a class today to work on this. Ha! I'm definitely gonna write the next chapter tomorrow just to catch up. We're cutting it real close people.**_

_**There's a lot of stuff in this chapter that pertains to early chapters in the story (the cult is finally explained here). Prepare for some serious ridiculousness people! Everything you will learn in this chapter is 100% made up and ridiculously irrelevant (and barely show related). I seriously don't know what I was on when I thought of this. **_

_**-------------------------------**_

"Gwen?! Gwen!"

Pain and tears surged her body as she woke.

Seconds of looking and she realized that she was not in her own bed…not in her own room. This one was much smaller, cramped and dark. The only thing that greeted her from across the bed was a small table with a water pitcher sitting on top.

When she got out of bed, she realized that she was no longer in the clothes she wore either. Her rugged and beaten pantsuits had been replaced by a long flowing chemise nightgown, one that looked over a century behind on fashion. The fact that it was all fluffy and pink only gave her more chills. She hated the color pink.

The windows curtains were in arm's reach and she pulled them open with ease. The landscape that greeted her was completely foreign. There were golden hills that stretched for miles and tall redwoods against the backdrop. She tried very hard to think of any geographical region in the world that could stand out but there would be too many places scattered about that would qualify.

Closing the curtains, Olivia went over to the table and looked up at the tiny mirror on the wall. A large gash was on her forehead now, could've been either from fighting with Ziegler or running from the cult but she couldn't remember. The blood and wounds from her face were well cleaned up. Looking at the table she was surprised to find her clothes and shoes had been neatly folded and set for her. The tears in the blouse were sewn up and the clothes had been washed. Even her shoes looked like they were repaired.

She leaned her ear against the only door in the tiny room. There was silence. The thought was scary because she had no clue where she was or how she would even escape. But that never stopped her before.

Quickly and quietly she changed out of the nightgown, into her clothes, and turned the doorknob. She was surprised to find it unlocked…more surprised, as she opened the door to find no one outside. Carefully, she stepped out into the darkened hallway and took her best guess as to what direction she would take and slowly made her way through.

She almost failed to see the staircase and nearly tripped but caught herself just in time. It was when she was going down the staircase when she started to be concerned that she hadn't been caught yet. The bottom of the staircase led into a grand living room, the furniture looking old timey in nature, the structure of the place looked as it were inside of a stone castle or at least a very old stone mansion.

A foyer and a large door greeted her at the bottom. She was ready for an escape but she was still feeling a sense of dread and suspicion due to the incredible silence of the place. She turned to look around behind the staircase.

A strong force had pulled her back.

"Where do you think you're going?!"

Not caring to see how the source of the voice was, Olivia gave it a good kick in the crotch and was heading out the door.

She could hear more voices gathering behind her as she ran out into the open, the golden hills and redwoods greeting her. She didn't stop to look around or back. She didn't care if she was lost. All she knew was to run until she had been stopped.

Something massive shoved Olivia to her side and onto the ground. It gave a nasty hiss.

Olivia turned to face the being…only to freeze in terror at what she saw.

It was a creature of orange and black stripes, dragon-like claws, and a massive snout, which opened up to reveal its razor sharp teeth.

Olivia had seen this creature before…

~*~*~*~

He ignored the scream for the first few seconds, until the brain was starting to register that maybe…just maybe…this was a little more than just another tantrum scream.

"AH!!!! MOMMY!!!! NO!!!!"

Within seconds, Peter rushed to Gwen's beside.

"Hey, it's okay. Calm down."

After a few seconds of screaming, Gwen cried, "I saw Mommy! I saw her!"

"Gwen…"

"Mommy was running!!! She got eaten by a monster!!!!!"

Peter tried to hug the toddler…tried to do everything that Olivia would've done. Honestly, he didn't know how she did it with this kid as she kept crying and screaming out loud, completely convinced of what she has seen.

"It's just a dream alright?" Peter said in his most calming voice. "Your mom's okay. Besides, she's too tough to be brought down by one monster…"

This little white lie seemed to comfort the child…a little. "Where is she? I wanna see Mommy now!!!"

"I told you, she'll be back real soon." Another white lie that gave Peter a blow to the gut every time he had to tell her. "You just gotta relax and deal with it for a while."

He grabbed a handkerchief and tried wiping Gwen's tear-stricken face. "B-b-but, but…I saw Mommy…"

"In a dream, Slimy. Now go back to your nap."

"No nap! Mommy will get eaten by the monster! No nap!!!"

Peter didn't have a choice if he didn't want Gwen to start screaming again. "Alright, fine. I don't want Mommy to get eaten by the monster either so…you can skip the rest of your nap."

Gwen reached out her arms happily calming down as Peter picked her up and carried her back into the living room. "Don't take it out on me if you start getting cranky, kid," he told her.

~*~*~*~

She could feel the cold wet nastiness of the creature's breath. Claws had pinned her to the ground.

"MUSKO! DOWN!"

The creature pulled back and closed its jaw without getting a single bit of Olivia. It walked off of her relieving her body of the creature's immense weight.

She tried to get up but it was a struggle. Her ribs felt sore and she still frightened. Suddenly, a pair of hands grabbed her by the wrists and pulled her up. They were now pushing her from behind and forced her in the direction of where the unusual creature stood.

It was now calm, almost purring as it sat…next to an old woman in a wheelchair. Olivia looked into the woman's eyes behind the ghastly wrinkles and saw a strange sense of familiarity. She knows this woman…but from where?

"Olivia Dunham." A groggy feminine voice spoke. She knew that voice before too.

Looking between her and the creature, it all became clear. Olivia had dreams about this woman and her strange pet.

"Are you…?"

The old woman gave Olivia the creepiest and biggest smile she would ever know. "It is an honor to finally meet you. Mark, bring her closer."

Olivia's eyes went wide at the sound of the name…the man who put this child in her, the man who had threatened her…He was shoving Olivia forward until she was on her knees just inches away from the old woman's ugly face. Much to her discomfort, the woman was silently bringing her fingers to Olivia's cheeks, looking at her face with absolute fascination.

She didn't know how much longer she could take any of this creepiness and finally Olivia pushed aside all fear. "You're Guinevere."

Mark turned her wrists gasping a familiar pain she had felt by him before. "You'll speak when you're spoken to!!!"

"It's quite alright, Mark," said Guinevere. "Let her be." Although quite unhappy about it, Mark obeyed his mistress and released his grip on Olivia. "Now if you would please bring the buggy over since Miss Dunham will not be in a condition to walk." Mark grumbled and stormed off. There were still a few guards that remained surrounding Olivia with guns ready, making it impossible for her to try another escape attempt.

"You will have to forgive them Miss Dunham. They weren't quite please with my request that you be brought here alive. Many of my followers believe it is a bad curse for a Guinevere-Mother to live after they give birth to an incarnation. But I have stood by you and testified to them that you are special…that you redefine the traditions and ways of the cult that have gone back centuries."

Olivia scoffed. "Is that why your men tried to kill me?"

"I implored them to give them time to trust you…though it has been rather difficult since we've learned of William Bell's betrayal."

"Then why am I here?"

"Well isn't it obvious," said Guinevere. "I wanted to meet you. Of course, we were also expecting my…other self to be here to but things did not go as planned now did they?"

Olivia did not respond.

A golf cart pulled up by Guinevere's side. Mark helped her into the back seat. "Will you join me please?"

Despite her distrust, Olivia didn't have a choice as the men and their guns pointed her towards the direction of the vehicle. Guinevere patted a seat next to her. "Where are we going?" Olivia asked.

"Just giving you a little tour of the compound."

The buggy took off with Mark driving in front, back towards the building Olivia tried to escape from, it drove around to reveal a large collection of buildings. The structures seemed to have varied in style and time. Some of the buildings looked very modern and recent while others were ancient and were wearing from age. The buggy went into one of the buildings.

They traveled into one of these buildings. The insides resembled what seemed like a massive greenhouse at work. For a cult, the place was prowling with personnel in lab coats.

"I'm sure you don't realize this," said Guinevere. "But you've done more for our cause than any of my most loyal followers have ever done. You've led us to the lost collection of Guinevere clones in Antarctica and because of your special 'gifts' courtesy of William Bell, you've given us our most powerful incarnation of Guinevere yet."

They slowly drove by on of the large lab table were a familiar lineup of jars was being examined. It was station right next to a large series of cages filled with grotesque hybrid animals.

"The Cortexiphan?"

"Of course. You do know that we are a science cult. Our specialty has been in the realm of pseudo-science for thousands of years. We may not have had microscopes back then but rest assured people were exploring attempts to clone humans as far back as medieval times."

Olivia pretended to be interested although she was far from it. "I'm sure you have."

"Do you know why we are called the Guinevere Cult? It's because at the turn of the second millennium there was a group of fanatics, originally from the Fertile Crescent if I recall who migrated to what we know today as England to continue their exploration of the human capability to control all natural force in the world. This strange nomad group believed that a goddess had the power to control not only the forces of nature but also bend and design all the mysteries of science. I believe your friends call it…The Pattern."

Olivia turned her head slightly to listen.

"Well then," Guinevere continued. Throughout the centuries the myths of the cult began to take shape until they came to the belief that this goddess would come to earth in human form and remain on earth for 150 years. During the final years of each carnation, a new one was required to come into being and absorb all memory and power from the old carnation as possible before their death. Of course this idea did not come into being until centuries ago back in England when these nomads believed that they have found the human incarnation of their goddess that they thought to have been lost for years. They found it in a woman that's considered an old legend. King Arthur times?"

"Guinevere."

"The very same. There had been many tales of her being mysteriously abducted and having to be rescued by her lovers King Arthur and Lancelot. What they don't tell you is that most of these abductions were committed by these nomads in an effort to collect her DNA (though I doubt they called it DNA back then). They were very convinced that this woman was their lost goddess. But in order to ensure that Guinevere would return again exactly as she was when she died, they had to resort to primitive forms of cloning. The nomads were gifted for their times and discovered a form of cloning that wouldn't be realized for hundreds of centuries afterwards. Every 100 years they would prep one woman whom they believed to be very special to carry the child to term but of course most of these 'Guinevere-Mothers' were known to be killed shortly afterward. That is something I am trying to change for your sake given all you've done for 'Gwen'".

"I don't think you'd be pleased with the way she turned out," Olivia said honestly. "She's not your little perfect copy of you and I know that your kind didn't expect me to raise her."

"I've seen what you've done, Miss Dunham. I've seen it all through her eyes. When either myself or the child sleeps we enter a state of exchange between the genetically similar minds. This is how I've been working on implanting my memories into her so she could take my place when I die. When I sleep, I see what is happening in her world in her time and the same goes for her with me. But there you have it. The traditions and beliefs of these nomads seeped their way into the Western World and many civilized people became part of the group, sharing their intelligence and wisdom and thus advancing the science of the cult far beyond what people truly know about us. Now then…you know now why you were brought into our world and why we did what we did to you. So you must tell me…what is your honest opinion about all I have shared?"

She was nervous but Olivia was going to let this crazy old woman have it. "What do I think? I think you're all completely insane and…I'd like to go home now!"

Guinevere laughed. "Oh so blunt. I'm liking you more by the minute. But I'm sorry to say that now that you've seen our compound, there is very little chance of you leaving and making back to the other reality alive."

"Hold on," said Olivia. "This place we're in is the other reality?"

"And deeply hidden I assure you. Even I don't know where exactly on the planet we are in. And most of my followers live and thrive on the lands here from birth so they would not know the outside world no more than I would."

"No! Stop!" Olivia jumped out of the buggy forcing the vehicle to stop. Immediately guards began charging in on Olivia. "You can't keep me here like this so you might as well…"

"We're bringing Gwen here!"

Olivia froze. "What? Gwen? You're bringing her here? You can't…"

"We can because this is where she belongs," said Guinevere. "Because this was where she was meant to be."

The women could hear the clicking of guns. "You on the other hand…I have pitied you Miss Dunham and the things we put you through for our cause. I would like to make it up to you by sparing your life."

Guinevere ordered her guards to lower their guns. "But only…on the condition that you would have to remain here forever. You will have to at the very work for us. You won't be required to believe or worship me, but I cannot let you leave this place alive. You know this."

"You're bringing Gwen here?"

"Yes."

"Will I…will I be able to see her again?"

Guinevere smiled. "Your attachment to the child amazes me. Given your experience with raising her…my people would not approve but I think I can see you becoming her personal nanny. I can provide you my full confidence but only while I'm still alive."

Upon hearing those words, Olivia's anger and distraught faded away. She looked at the old woman with a sense of hope and gratitude in her eyes. But the proposal could not be taken to likely.

She would be stuck here forever in the other world…forced to be pushed around by people who would've preferred her dead. She would never see home again or her family. She would never be able to attempt reconciliation with Rachel, something she regretted holding off for so long. Her whole life would now have to dropped and lost.

Last but not least, she thought of Peter. There would be no more snarky comments from him, no more quiet serene nights of shared liquor. In the small amount of time that she had seen him with Gwen…they worked well as a team together.

It was a very difficult decision but in the end, Gwen was coming here. She would get to be with her daughter…yes she was her daughter no matter what anyone here had to say about it…and despite everything that she would lose or was risking…it was gonna be worth…even for just one more day with whom had become her entire world…

"I'll do it…I'll stay…"

~*~*~*~

Watching Gwen, as well as keeping tabs on Walter was becoming a tiresome and thankless chore. Gwen had been so absorbed in her coloring to care for anything else around her. This made it difficult for Peter to keep up with her daily routine. Whenever it was time to give her a bath or put her to sleep Gwen would scream and kick and put up all sorts of hell until Peter gave up. It wasn't like Gwen at all to be like this even during all the long days that Peter played babysitter for her she was rarely like this.

"Will you stop it?!" said Peter. He was having another difficult day trying to get Gwen to settle down for a nap in the lab. Still she only kicked and screamed to go back to her drawings. "Your mom won't be happy to see you like this."

"Mommy's dead!" the girl cried.

Peter put Gwen down. "HEY! Do NOT talk about her like that! You don't know…"

"Mommy's dead!!! She's dead! She's dead! She's dead!!!"

Gwen was making Peter reach a boiling point. It had been almost two weeks since Olivia had vanished, no trace or hope of recovery. As ridiculous as it was for Gwen to scream such a thing…there was a little part of Peter that was starting to believe it. Damn Gwen's 206 IQ. He couldn't let that be true though…no matter how much despair he had been keeping hidden since Olivia's disappearance.

"Son?" Walter walked by the struggling pair as he grabbed his coat. "I'm going off to the park to fancy myself a pita."

"Take Gwen with you please!" Peter said angrily. "I can't deal with this right now!"

Walter did not want to intrude on his son's anger as he approached the screaming kid. "Care to join an old fool for pitas, Miss Guinevere?"

Gwen looked up at Walter. "I want my drawings…"

"Of course," said Walter as he picked up on of Gwen's drawings to look. "We can sell them on the street for a hefty sum. The Louvre will have to negotiate with you for this lovely work."

Walter placed Gwen on her leased and walked her out the door with her paper and crayons in hand. "Ah…you walk much like Rufus does. I did teach him to walk upright you know."

Once they were gone, Peter took out his rage on a small group of flasks on the lab table, angrily pushing them to the floor.

~*~*~*~

At the park, Walter and Gwen shared a vegetarian pita with goat cheese that Gwen became absolutely disgusted with. They were sitting at the fountain when Walter became entranced by a coin in the fountain. "Ah ha! A Sacagawea!"

He was unaware that at that very moment, Gwen had managed to unbuckle the harness from the leash and began to wander off with her paper and crayons in hand.

She wandered off quite a far distance into the park until she bumped into something surprisingly furry. Looking up she found that it wasn't an animal she ran into, but a woman…

…a woman who looked very thrilled to see her.

Walter had finally got the coin out of the fountain. He turned back only to find an infuriated Peter looming over him.

"Walter…where's Gwen?"

Walter looked over at the leash, missing an entire child. "Oh…sh*t."

Peter began running all over the park calling out for Gwen, completely hating himself…regretting not having called Astrid to come in today…but moreso hating himself. "Gwen?!"

He finally took a breather when he saw a familiar looking child sitting on the bench with a familiar woman in a fur coat. The child wore a harness with no leash and she was showing the woman the sheets of paper showing pictures of golden hills and large trees.

"This is the place I see mommy at. It looks like a pretty place."

"I'm sure it does."

"But Pe'er says I see mommy in a dream. So is mommy really dead?"

"Of course not. You shouldn't think such things. I've known your mother for quite some time and I have reason to believe she's still alive in this pretty place you drew."

"I wanna go there and see mommy. Can I?"

"Well…I don't know about that."

Peter marched right over to the woman who talking to Gwen. "You've got to be kidding me. What do you think you're doing here?!"

Nina Sharp looked up at Peter with a mocking smile. No wonder Olivia didn't like her. "Peter, is that what you call responsible parenting? I don't think Agent Dunham would approve of you letting a child run around unescorted like this."

"She…she ran away from me?" said Peter nervously.

"Well, I see that you've been having your troubles since Agent Dunham's gone missing. I was just in town to update Broyles on the search."

Peter looked at Nina coldly. "Walter!" Walter came up right behind Peter. "Take Gwen and go straight back to the lab. No stopping for anything!"

Walter hesitantly obeyed his son and hooked Gwen back to the harness again.

"Don't be so harsh, Peter," said Nina. "I know Agent Dunham means a great deal to you but taking out your frustrations on the usual sort won't be her back so easily."

"How would you know? You've dealt with those whackos before. How do I know you're not full of sh*t."

"I find it quite insulting that you would associate me with…them. I'm far more in touch with the real world than Guinevere herself…perhaps moreso than William Bell."

A child's scream took Peter's attention away.

He turned and was horrified to see a strange man kicking Walter to the ground. Another snatched Gwen in his arms as a car suddenly pulled up on the road alongside them…

The men where taking Gwen into the car with them.

"GWEN!!!"

Peter dashed past his fallen Walter and went in pursuit of the car. Nina hurriedly went back to her limo in a panic and yelled at her driver "Call Broyles! They've come for Gwen!"

Peter was pursuing the vehicle on foot, even as the car decided to speed up and defy all traffic laws. A few blocks into pursuit, Peter finally tripped and fell to the street in pain.

All the while his mind was screaming as his eyes watched the car disappear from sight:

'_This isn't happening…this is NOT happening!' _


	36. Together and apart

_**It's getting harder and harder for my sleep deprived easily distracted brain to make it to the September 17**__**th**__** deadline but I'm trying…really…really trying…I'm thinking 3…4 more chapters left people!**_

_**Reviews are encouragement might help immensely. Let's do it you guys!**_

_**Btw: You guys need to go out and get this week's issue of EW devoted to Fall TV Preview. Reason: P/O COVER!!! HOTTEST P/O PIC EVER!!!!!!**_

_**-------------------------------**_

She was starting to lose her patience and trust with the cult in the two weeks she had been kept here.

Most of her time was spent locked up by the wackos in what they insisted was a temporary guestroom. There were about a dozen places throughout the large compound that Olivia did not have access to unless she was escorted.

The more she got to know this strange cult, the more irritated she was. She was starting to think that they were just using Gwen as a means of blackmail and that she wasn't really going to come anytime soon.

And even if she did come…was this nanny job they were giving Olivia legit? How much time would they even allow her to spend time with her daughter? Chances are, they could take it all away from Olivia once it became too good to be true.

She hated it every time someone came knocking on her door. It was usually Mark demanding her to get out of bed at an ungodly hour to spend some one-on-one time with Guinevere.

"And this is me." Guinevere showed Olivia a very old black and white photo of herself, a little curly haired child in a white dress. The date written on the old photo was 1865. "That was taken my first year here at the compound. In this very room actually".

"Yeah." Olivia pretended to be interested but was exhausted and her mind wandered off to focusing on the ugly fluff on the bold pink shirt she wore. The wardrobe they had for her was just awful and decades out of date. She would've preferred wearing the pantsuits she was brought in until they wore out over bell bottom jeans and screaming pink that made her feel disgusted to wear.

"Gwen's a very lucky little girl, you know?" Guinevere didn't seem to mind Olivia's lack of interest. "I've often wondered about my Guinevere-Mother and what she was like. I sometimes wondered what it would've been like to have been raised by her instead of being discipled by an older woman whom I was made to be genetically equal to."

Olivia was plucking more of the pink from off her shirt. "So…did you ask about her?"

"She died giving birth to me," said Guinevere. "Most of them do. And the ones who don't were not allowed to remain alive for very long. I haven't heard of one who's lived longer than half a year…which makes you even more special Miss Dunham. None can give birth to a clone child and survive it for as long as you have."

"Well I'm sure that's nice to know."

"We'll have a place in our history records for you, Miss Dunham. I can not see them overlooking you like they have the other Guinevere-Mothers in the past."

At that moment, Olivia's least favorite person at the compound appeared. Mark whispered something in Guinevere's ear and turned away without even glancing over. "Well," said Guinevere. "It's time to move you to your new quarters."

Olivia blinked. "What?"

"Oh trust me," said Guinevere as she turned her wheelchair. "You'll like where we've put you." Olivia quickly got up to follow her. Her heart was racing faster than her feet as Guinevere led her down a large stone corridor to a door in the corner at the far end. She was hoping against all hope for something she shouldn't.

"Well have some decent clothes of your size brought over to you. But you will still be required to follow curfew laws. But I assure you it will be worth it now. Enjoy."

Guinevere left and Olivia walked into the room. It was large and circular. Looking like a standard bedroom. The room and the bed were more spacious warmer and inviting than what she was trapped in before. There was an archway leading to another room. She had been drawn in by the bright child-like colors that surrounded this darker room.

The various toys, the colorful flowers that decorated the room almost took her eyes away from the sleeping form on the little bed.

Her hand shook as she reached out. Too many tears of joy prevented her from calling out her name.

With one gentle stroke of her hand, the child woke up. "Mommy?"

"Yes…oh…Gwen…"

"MOMMY!!!"

The little girl was pulled into Olivia's arms instantly. It was tightest hug that she had ever given Gwen, almost suffocating in a way. The two weeks they had been apart had almost taken its toll on Olivia.

Two weeks away from her daughter had seemed almost like an eternity…

~*~*~*~

Peter's body remained limp as Astrid and Walter had to carry him back to the lab.

"Put him on the couch."

Walter led the way, pulling his son closer to the couch with Astrid supporting the other side until they finally managed to get him to lean back. Peter pathetically tried to swing his arm at the two of them to get them to go away. His head swung real low not caring for any of the surroundings around him. Astrid took the empty bottle of scotch that he had been gripping in his other hand. "What should we do about that vomit by the elevator?"

"Oh blame it on the Lampoon boys," said Walter. "They're frequent around here with their shenanigans and all."

"Heh," said Peter in a deep slur voice. "Nice one, Walter…or should I say…otherly…world…bastard…father."

"Language, Peter!"

"Screw you, old man!"

Astrid brought over a trashcan, a wet rag, and a bottle of water to Peter's side. "Hey, you can bicker with Walter all you want later. Right now you need to relax."

"Relax? Ha?" Peter gulped. "What good is relaxing around this…?" He suddenly leaned over the couch to vomit again.

"Oh crap," said Astrid. "Use the trash can."

She pulled him back up again (avoiding the inhaling of Peter's liquor breath) and Walter noticed something in Peter's coat pocket. "Another container of Brandy?"

Peter pulled out the container and took a swig. "Ha! Didn't get all of them, did you, you old fart!"

"Give it here, boy!"

"No!"

Astrid stepped away from the couch watching Walter trying to wrestle the container of Brandy away from his son. She had never seen Walter and Peter physically have at each other. Peter was thrashing his arms around trying to push Walter away. Finally, Peter found the strength to get up and shove Walter back. He was swaying for the few seconds that he managed to stand up under his own power until he fell back onto the couch.

"Disgraceful…" said Walter watching his son trying to drink the last drops in the bottle. "Absolutely disgraceful!!! I will not have a son of mine waste himself away like this."

"Joke's on you." Peter looked up at Walter with incredibly dull nasty eyes. "I'm not even YOUR real son."

"Then think of Gwen and Agent Dunham…think of what they would-"

Walter dove as a small glass bottle flew by him and crashed against the column behind. He and Astrid were now terrified as Peter tried to sit up and wave a finger at his father's direction. Peter was trying to go for serious even though he was far too weak to really express it.

"Do…not…" Peter could barely get his eyes to look into his father's. "You say anything about them to me again, Walter…and…I…will f**king kill you. I'm sick of hearing it!"

Walter was both heartbroken and angry. "I only mentioned it because I know how much you…"

"Just shut the f**k up, alright!!! I don't need to be reminded!"

"Of what, son?"

"What the f**k do you think?!" Peter swung over looking like he was about to throw up again. Both Astrid and Walter stood back out of fear of Peter's rage. He finally swung his head back with vomiting. His eyes stared lifelessly at the pipes in the ceiling.

"I can't…" He speech was slurred but a bit calm now. "I couldn't do one thing right for her…not one thing…" He slowly started to stand up. "And everytime…sh*t happens…to her…sh*t that I should've been there to stop!"

He stumbled his way around the couch, getting farther and farther away from Astrid and Walter. Now Peter was lost in his mind, trapped in the guilt that had consumed him for months.

"And topping off all the suckness…Liv gets herself…killed?…kidnapped?…I dunno… But even after all of that…I…I…" Peter leaned himself against a steel cabinet. The fist in his hand had become very tight when he finally made a large dent into the cabinet.

He let his whole self-drop to the floor, hands to his face.

"I failed her…'couldn't even look after one lousy kid for her without screwing up…"

"Oh…son…" Walter made tiny steps closer to Peter. He couldn't bear to watch his boy all curled up and lost in absolute despair. The sobs alone cried out for his fatherly comfort.

"Walter." Astrid quietly stopped Walter from moving in. "I don't think it's such a good idea for you to talk to him anymore," she whispered.

"Oh." Walter sadly understood. "Would YOU try then?"

"Um…"

"There's a free trip to the Dairy Queen in it for you."

"Whatever," said Astrid. "I guess I could give it a shot." It almost seemed like Astrid had a death wish as she walked over and kneeled down by Peter. It was surreal for her to see Peter this low… "Peter?"

He knew it was Astrid but didn't want to say or do much of anything.

"I know you think you…messed up…but you've done a whole more than you think you know."

Peter's voiced was muffled. "I can't think of anything…"

"Well, I can name quite a few. The big one being that YOU volunteered to become Gwen's full time babysitter, when no one else would…and what about the day Liv gave birth…"

"…I was off drinking my ass in another state…" said Peter. "They did terrible things to her because I wasn't there…"

"Maybe so…but if you hadn't pushed Agent Francis and me to track her down on a whim, she would've bled to death and we wouldn't have gotten to her in time. You saved her life that day, Peter. From what I've heard, you've saved her life on a few more occasions too."

"I can confirm," Walter interrupted.

"Point is…" Astrid said. "She owes you more than you owe her. Especially since you took care of Gwen for her when she went missing. That's more than I would've done because I'm not a fan of children but…"

She stopped when Peter reached out his hand and place it on Astrid's shoulder. She almost jumped from the sudden gesture.

"Alright, Astrid," Peter said calmly. "I get it…thanks."

He seemed like he meant it, despite his face all red from tears and frustration. He was even taking deep breaths for his own comfort.

"I know you don't trust Nina Sharp and all but it sounds like she's doing what she can to help find them," Astrid assured him.

~*~*~*~

A low growl came from the creature as Gwen began sticking her tongue at it. The creature turned its head away and Gwen giggled. It's tail was swaying back it forth just waiting for an immature child like Gwen to pull on it.

"Gwen! Leave Musko alone!"

The child stop just before being scooped up in Olivia. "Aw, Mommy."

"He's too dangerous for you to be near, Gwen. I don't want you getting hurt."

"But he's so funny looking."

Olivia laughed. "I thought you said he was eating me in your dreams."

"I know, but I like him now."

Olivia took Gwen away from the creature without putting her down. "Time to get back. Guinevere wants to see you."

Gwen wanted her mom to go slow as they walked through the luscious golden fields located on the grounds of the compound. She seemed to really like it here and was adjusting to her new situation, but a lot of it had to do with Olivia herself. She in turn was learning to cope, after all of these months, that her old life was dead.

They walked by a group of field workers who always looked at Gwen with fascinated, admiring eyes. Gwen was a well-loved, respected child who had more freedom and access in their confines than Olivia did. The workers gave Olivia cold looks, some were even muttering curses under their breathes at her. This had been the norm since she's lived here. Despite her devotion to Gwen, Olivia was persecuted by most of the followers for still being her individual person. Some had spat on her…forced her to do some hard labor…some had even beaten her.

Yer as painful as it all was, Olivia was willing to endure this crueler life. Because all that mattered now was that she got to be with her daughter again. And she was determined to make a happy life for themselves…even if they really were prisoners here.

"Mommy, can we go visit Pe'er and Wulder sometime?"

It felt like a dagger to the heart to hear that name…especially since Gwen has never gotten the hang of saying his name properly. The poor child was intelligent but was still too naïve to realize that she wasn't going to see the world outside of this compound again anytime soon.

Olivia can't look Gwen in the eye. "It's up to the people here, sweetie."

"But I miss them. Don't you miss them, mommy?"

She gave Gwen a tighter hug. Olivia couldn't let Gwen see the tears that were ready to burst from her eyes. "Yes," she whispered. "I miss them, too."

~*~*~*~

"I wish I knew where I had placed that blasted remote," said Walter.

"You're still whining about that thing?" asked Peter. For about a year and a half all that Walter would talk about was losing that remote and not knowing where he placed it. Knowing Walter however, it was bound to pop up again eventually.

A sudden knock at the door put the Bishop boys at a standstill. It was 1 AM. Astrid had long gone home for the night.

Walter was ready to answer it but Peter stopped him. "Don't…I have a bad feeling about this…"

"Oh come now, Peter. I believe I ordered a liver submarine sandwich that has yet to arrive."

"You believe? Do you even remember calling the sandwich place?"

Walter ignored him and answered the door. He unaware that it was Harold Ziegler himself standing at the door due to his own fault memory.

"Good Evening. I believe you've been looking for this." Ziegler waved a familiar looking remote in the air infront of him.

"What luck!" said Walter. "I actually happen to miss one of these. Can't say I allowed anyone to have borrowed it though. That would've been quite careless of me."

Ziegler stepped into the room and pulled a gun to Walter's head. "That's because I stole it."

"WALTER LOOK OUT!" Peter charged at Ziegler in an attempt to take the gun. It was a futile effort as Ziegler threw Peter to the ground. He aimed his gun back at Walter and forced him down on his knees next to his son.

"Do you know this gentleman, Peter?" asked Walter.

"Jesus Christ, Walter. Is your memory that bad? This psycho tried to kidnap us and was working with William Bell. He's the one who told me that you brought me here."

"Oh…" Walter shook his head. "No…sorry doesn't ring a bell."

Peter looked at the man with deep hatred. "You come to finish me? You'll have to get it over with now before I kill you first."

"I'm afraid that would actually become an inconvenience for you, Mr. Bishop."

"Don't give me that sh*t. You've gone coward at every encounter, running away whenever the cops come around. So go ahead, I dare you to get over yourself try and kill me now."

Walter nearly got a heart attack. "Peter…son…what are you saying?"

Ziegler pointed the gun closer to Peter's head. "Pity you should request to die now. I shall have to send Agent Dunham and the child your regards when I see them."

He didn't know if it was shock or fury but the sudden mentioning of the name caused Peter's reflexes to kick in gear. His hand grabbed Ziegler's wrist in a swift motion until the gun was wrestled free from Ziegler. He didn't even seem to put up a fight when Peter grabbed the gun and put it to Ziegler's head. "What are you…are you trying to mess with my head? What do you mean when you see them?"

Peter's hands were shaking but Ziegler had no reason to react or be nervous. "Since the portal's been reopened, I had been preparing to extract my revenge on the Guinevere Cult. But there was still the matter of locating the compound in the other world. It's been hidden in a discreet location only known to a few who are closely associated and loyal, unlike me."

"What does that I have to do with us? We have nothing of use to you here."

"On the contrary Bishop. It seems the key to locating the compound has been in your possession all this time. May I look around your lab?"

Ziegler slowly walked past Peter who found himself lowering the gun. He was obviously losing it to allow this dangerous man to poke around the lab.

"Do you like her?" said Walter as Ziegler stepped back from a giant slug in the tank. "Her name's Betsy. She originated from an unusual case of the common cold…"

"Walter," Peter said harshly.

Ziegler stopped infront a refrigerator which stored many important chemical flasks and Walter's gummy worm vanilla ice cream. He didn't open the refrigerator door however and instead removed the sheets of paper that were placed on their by magnets.

"Hey!" Peter angrily approached him. "What do you think you're doing?"

Ziegler laughed waving the familiar colored drawings in Peter's face. "I'm amazed you kept these pathetic drawings. As far as being attached to the child goes it seems you and Agent Dunham were on the same level of insanity."

Famous last words it seemed as Peter threw Ziegler against the wall. "Give those back!"

"I have what I need now."

"What do you mean? These are just kid drawings. They don't mean anything."

"Hmmph," said Ziegler. "Tell me, Bishop. When the child was in your care has she ever complained of dreams and visions of the place where she thought her 'mother' was taken to?"

Peter started to loosen up.

"You can't tell me she has seen it."

"She has all along," explained Ziegler. "And she has drawn these pictures to express the description of the place on paper. I know of very few places on the planet that fit this kind of geographical description. Narrowing the search should be quite simple now."

"You're madder than Walter," said Peter. "You want these drawings, fine! Take them and leave us alone."

"I've still yet to propose my offer, Bishop. Does seeing Agent Dunham again have any interest for you?"

Peter looked at the man in shock. This man can't be serious. "It will be a once in a lifetime opportunity…and if the timing goes well, you might even have a chance to retrieve them both…her and the child…and bring them back home. I can't imagine you saying no to that."

There was a long silence as Peter stood there…quietly letting the hope from Ziegler's words sink in. He gave him a suspicious look. "So…what's the catch?"

"Only that you should find it best to assist me in getting to the other side. I have a group of men who are preparing for the attack. Once we get an official tracking on the compound's location…we should be ready to make our descent on them immediately."

"Yeah…well" said Peter. "That still doesn't explain why you're asking ME to help you or why you need me."

"Your unique part in all of this shall be known in due time. We have a deal then?"

Ziegler smirked knowing that Peter would consent. He now had everything and everyone he needed for the sweetest revenge the other world would ever know.


	37. The end has begun

I see the finish line! Two more chapters left! Oh dear god, will I be relieved. This is gonna be a crazy week for me with trying to get this finished…stupid finals at my stupid work school…and the Fringe season premiere. You can see why I'm gonna go crazy. This chapter was a mind chore for me and I'll be glad to focus on other work tomorrow but rest assured the end will come before Thursday…of this fic, I mean! ;)

_**You might want to enjoy this chapter extra more. It's the last big crazy cliffhanger of this fic (and it is quite crazy!)! I will miss driving my readers insane but hey, there's still "Growing Up in the Dark" which I plan to go back to after the premiere, and after that, who knows what's in store…**_

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Uncertainty seemed to overwhelmed Gwen as they went back inside. Olivia was starting to feel it too. For the months they've been kept here, Gwen had been basically allowed to do what she pleased and Olivia was grateful for her position as primary sitter and caretaker. But she knew that things weren't going to be like this forever.

Gwen had her share of one-on-one meetings with Guinevere since arriving here. Guinevere was going to be the child's tutor in due time. She was going to be the one whom Guinevere would learn about her greatest potential from if Gwen was to be the cult's new leader someday.

Olivia knew better to express her skepticism about the whole ordeal despite everything. If Gwen was happy, then she couldn't argue with the unusual things that occurred at the compound.

"I don't like seeing her, Mommy." Gwen was referring to Guinevere.

Olivia became worried. "Why? Is she hurting you?"

"No."

"Then what's wrong? What does she do to you?"

Knowing that they were surrounded by guards and heading towards a restricted part of the compound, Gwen was getting quite scared so she leaned over to whisper in Olivia's ear. "She tries to make me forget you."

They had reached their destination before Olivia had time to react to her child's words.

"Hello, Gwen," Guinevere greeted them in the hallway. "We'll be doing something very special today." She pointed to the metal double doors down the hall. "In that room."

Olivia walked with Gwen towards the door, until Mark stopped them. "You don't have access here," Mark growled at her. "This is a restricted area for only Guinevere and her clones."

"No!" Gwen protested. "Mommy, come with me!!"

Mark grabbed Gwen and put her on Guinevere's lap despite the little girl's protest. The fury was building up in Olivia. Although there have been some occasions where Olivia and Gwen were not together, this was the first time that they were being separated and Gwen was absolutely scared. Olivia wanted to grab Gwen and run the hell away, but the security bastards around them seemed ready for her to make such a reckless move.

"I can't." Olivia was nervous, feeling immense fear for her daughter's safety for the first time. "It'll be okay Gwen. I'll be here waiting for you to come out, okay?"

"NOOOOO!!!!!" The adults around her seemed to disregard Gwen's protesting as a toddle tantrum. Guinevere tried to calm her down but nothing seemed to work. Olivia was forced to stay on one side of the metal doors while Guinevere and Gwen went in. From the little that Olivia saw, she could see that the other room looked like a large reactor. The door close automatically in seconds.

"What is that?" asked Olivia. "Where is she taking her to?!"

"That's classified info," said Mark.

"I have a right to know what she's doing with her!"

"That's enough! You're going back to your quarters!"

Mark pointed his gun at Olivia. Three other guards who were there were ready to follow. Olivia stayed where she was despite the fear and anger. "I'm not going anywhere until they come out."

In a split second she could see Mark's hand reaching for her arm and she immediately reacted.

It was quick, sudden, a stroke of luck, and good timing.

It was also sweet vengeance.

Olivia blocked her approaching arm and managed to kick his gun out of the other. Before the other guards could aim for her, Olivia had taken Mark's gun and pointed it to his head.

"Get back!" she demanded pointing the gun at all three of them. "Stay the hell back!"

She moved herself and Mark closer to the door, a gun to his head kept him under her control. "Open the door!"

He nervously pressed the proper numbers on control pad to open the doors that Guinevere and Gwen had just passed through. She threw Mark towards the guards and smirked as he had a rough landing to floor and quickly went through the door before it closed again. She barely missed the bullets that were being fired at her.

She found herself trapped in an open lift. From somewhere down below where dozens of steel machines lie, Olivia could hear the echoed screams of her daughter.

A small ladder leading down was just a few feet against the wall. She made the leap onto the ladder wanting to get down to the floor quicker.

Machines were whirring all around her when she touched the ground. Gwen's cries were coming from a smaller more secluded reactor on the ground. Taking the gun she took from Mark, she fired a few bullets at the metal door. The bullets damaged were causing the machines to go crazy. As soon as the door started to come lose Olivia ran for the door and threw it open.

Inside the reactor, Guinevere was sitting there looking confused at Olivia as she wore a wired device on her head…across from here. Gwen was sitting strapped to a chair, wearing a similar device. Chords seemed to connect the two head devices together.

Immediately, Olivia rushed over and carefully removed the head device and the straps from Gwen. "Mommy!" Gwen was in tears of both fear and relief to see Olivia.

Once she was safe in her arms, Olivia turned coldly to the old woman. "What the hell is this?!"

"We were only working on our memory exchanges, transfer of abilities..." Guinevere seemed indifferent and unapologetic. "It does not possess any physical harm or pain but she has been very uncooperative as of late so we had to restrain her."

"Because she's scared!"

"This has to be done. It's been the method for generations."

"Then it needs to be changed."

Being far from happy to see Olivia here, Guinevere had a sweet and serious tone to her voice. "I don't believe you have any rights or access here."

"She's my daughter. I have every right!"

Guinevere turned to the child. "Gwen…dear. You trust me don't you?"

Gwen looked at her for a second and buried herself back into Olivia. "Mommy…I don't like it here anymore. I want'a leave."

"There, you see? She trusts me. She calls me her mother. I never forced that or asked of her. She's accepted and trusted me since she was born. She doesn't want to be your clone or your leader. She wants to be my daughter!"

The door to the reactor swung open and Gwen was immediately pried from her arms. Before Olivia could react, a strong electric current was shot through her and she landed on the ground, curling and convulsing.

Gwen screamed.

The seconds after Mark pulled the taser back were painful for Olivia, but she kept the pain in with deep breaths not wanting to scare Gwen any more.

"Well, Mark," said Guinevere said without emotion. "It seems you were right about Miss Dunham. You will have to forgive me for not trusting you. Take them back to their quarters. And convene the council."

One guard grabbed a crying and screaming Gwen while Olivia was picked up by two others.

They were put back into their room, locked in.

Olivia could barely stay conscious as she lied on her bed in pain. Gwen crawled onto the bed to join her. "Mommy! Wake!"

Despite the pain, Olivia lifted her head. "I'm okay, baby. I'm okay."

She pulled Gwen closer to her and in silence they began to wait. Olivia's time with Gwen was about to be tragically cut short but until that time, she would be strong and treasure what she feared would be their last days together.

~*~*~*~

It was not normal for Peter to let his guard when traveling with Ziegler who claimed to have found the exact location of the compound on the other side, thanks to Gwen's pictures. He tried but just couldn't conjure the will to ask questions until they go to their destination.

Apparently this place was on the other side of the country in a large rural area where rugged golden hills stretched for miles and a forest of redwoods could be seen out in the distance.

They arrived by car at an abandoned sawmill where Ziegler and his men were doing inventory on their weapons, and setting up the computers, preparing for the siege that they were unlikely to return from.

"I must thank your father for allowing me to use his device one last time."

"No need," said Peter.

"It is quite amazing how one little machine created by one man is able to take us to places far beyond our thought."

"So you're sure this is the exact area the place is at?"

"Most likely," said Ziegler. "Especially since many of FBI's Wanted that have been associated with the cult coincidentally have residential addresses in the surrounding towns here. That was a major clue for me."

"You still haven't explained why you need me to do this."

"Oh yes. That reminds me of another item I borrowed from your lab that night." Ziegler pulled out a familiar looking leather book. "I'm surprised you haven't asked about this book."

"We couldn't get any answers out of that thing. You saying you can read that?"

"I know a few of the more…interesting tidbits from it."

"Yeah? What tidbits?"

"About certain prophecies," Ziegler explained.

"And did any of these prophecies involved Olivia in anyway?"

"Not so much, actually. You're girlfriend was more of a random selection for the experiment."

Peter raised a brow at the 'girlfriend' reference.

"You on the other hand…Bishop. Well, I never believed in coincidences but I found it quite eerie when Bell informed me of your story. Your father loses his child to a slow and painful death that consumes him. Said father works with Bell on experiments that bends and rewrites reality by creating open portals. That's a much as I've learned from Bell. I was only an associate with his unusual organization."

"ZFT, huh?"

"Unusual name. But yes, that was what he called it."

"Of all people I had to learn that bombshell from."

"I deeply apologized for that. But I thought if I could convince you that you were part of their prophecy then maybe you would be willing to assist me.

"Prophecy?"

Ziegler laughed. "Yes, apparently. The Guinevere Cult has one fear…one weakness. They feared their destruction would be caused by a missing soul who would return to his home and bring about their unwarranted end."

"That sounds like bull."

"It IS bull," Ziegler smiled. "And yet they still believe in it. Suppose, someone who happened to coincidentally fit the description of said prophecy just showed up at their compound? They would be consumed with fear wouldn't they? Perhaps accept that their end was coming? It will make taking them out a whole lot easier for me and my men."

Peter sighed. "Well that's great. I'm just a decoy to you guys. Perfect."

Ziegler laughed off his cynicism. "It won't be a total loss. There's always that slight chance you might get lucky and find them."

"Do you even care…" asked Peter. "That they might get hurt if you do this?"

"I'm afraid it won't matter now," said Ziegler. "If they've had Agent Dunham and the child in their possession for these past months, then it's quite possible that they may have been brainwashed by now. Bell is dead. Victory of war is no longer a concern. The only thing that matters to me now, is vengeance."

~*~*~*~

They had been locked in their quarters for almost a whole day. Olivia only got out of bed a few times to either use the bathroom in their quarters or to tend to anything Gwen needed.

About halfway through the night, Gwen started to moan. "I'm hungry, mommy."

"I know, but don't worry," Olivia assured her. "They wouldn't let YOU starve. They'll probably bring some food soon."

"But I'm hungry now!"

In the months since being here, Gwen was forced off of milk and began eating solid foods. She wasn't a fan of the scientifically-altered vegetables they the others at the compound ate all the time and neither was Olivia. But they did what they had to in order to survive their time here…that was what was important.

She couldn't bear to see Gwen like this…on what would possibly be their last day together. She knew now what her daughter meant when she said that Guinevere was trying to make her forget: they were brainwashing her. And now Olivia felt like a failure unable to prevent Guinevere from doing what she pleased with her little clone.

"Gwen…come here."

The little girl became confused as she watched her mother unbuttoned the blouse she was wearing. "It's alright," Olivia assured her. "It's milk. You won't feel hungry afterwards."

Gwen shifted herself under Olivia as she instructed her on what to do. A few hesitating moments later, Gwen finally gave in. After the first few moments of suckling, Gwen was feeling much better. She smiled as the milk tasted exactly like the milk that her mom used to feed her from the bottle.

As for Olivia, her close contact with Gwen brought a deeper sense of bonding. It made her almost feel serene that for their one last night, she could provide such comfort for the child. She couldn't believe that she turned herself away from this method…that it would take this long for her to finally be the mother she should've been the day Gwen was born.

~*~*~*~

The sun rose over the golden hills as the devices were set up. The gunmen were planning out the final stages going through artist conceptions of what the compound might look like from the inside. Their main objective was to kill Guinevere and as many of the major leaders and followers as possible and to possibly steal from the compound whatever scientific secrets that place that hidden for centuries.

"You ready to go in?" Ziegler asked Peter.

"Well…a gun would be nice."

Ziegler sighed as he went over to his ammunition collection and got Peter one of the more measly smaller guns and placed it in Peter's hands.

"Try to not to put those bullets to waste. Remember, they won't know that there's an ambush of us waiting to follow you in."

"What if they kill me before you show up?!"

"That's the risk you've agreed to take is it not? Once we make our entrance, we'll be occupied with our killing and you will be free to go off and look for your loved ones."

"How long do I have? I mean…how long are you planning this thing?"

"An hour and a half at most, quite possibly an hour. Plus there is the possibility that I may have to call for a quick early retreat back to the portal and if that's the case and you're not with us when it happens, then you're…

"…on my own. Yeah, I get it."

In a matter of hours, Peter could see them activated over the horizon, the familiar grayish screen he had seen before. The others looked at it in fascination. Just as Ziegler predicted a vast array of white buildings enclosed in a wall was just miles ahead. He would half to walk through the forest leading down into the valley first.

"I'm sending a few scouts to take accompany you as far as the edge of the woods…from there you will have to go to the compound on your own while we wait for the right moment to move in."

Peter walked over to the gray screen.

"Good luck to you then."

He was scared that it would hurt when he walked through but instead it felt a bit fuzzy and dizzy. He was surprised to find himself standing in the middle of a large forest when just moments ago he was standing in the middle of an old field by a sawmill.

Getting through the woods was easy but there was still a vast golden meadow that left him many feet away from the compound. It was going to be a suicidal walk.

But after these past months of emotional and mental turmoil that haunted him…the unbearable separation he had felt from Olivia and Gwen. If this was his only chance…then he had to make it worth it. He just had to.

~*~*~*~

Olivia looked out at the peaceful morning light with much sadness. She remained curled up in her bed, with Gwen in her arms.

She tried to not let the tears fall when she started to hear the noises. Footsteps and her door being kicked open. She quickly but affectionately gave Gwen a kiss on her head before being Mark and the other gunmen surrounded her.

"The council has voted for your immediate execution, Miss Dunham."

Just as they grabbed Olivia, Gwen had woken up and began to immediately panic. Amidst her screams, Olivia was sad but calm. "I love you, Gwen. I'm so sorry."

Gwen was restrained as Olivia was taken away from the room. The tears feel silently when Gwen's screams and calls for her mommy to come back began echoing down the hall. Olivia listened because a part of her would miss the screams and fits of the child which she had gotten use to. It wasn't the best memory she wanted to leave with but still…

It was no surprised that Guinevere was there, waiting as Olivia was escorted to a small steel building outside of the main building. Inside, it was cold and dark as Olivia was led down a small flight of steps. Light appeared in the room. It looked like a dreary basement with the exception of a large control base and a reactor. One of the guards opened the steel door to reveal dark stains from inside the reactor…dark clumps too.

"I didn't want to do this, Miss Dunham," said Guinevere. "But I did spare you…offered you a fine place here with Gwen under no force. I am disappointed that you chose to throw away such a promising life."

Olivia said only two words to Guinevere: "I'm not." And with that, she was thrown into the reactor with the door closed behind her.

Now enveloped in complete darkness, she could only think about the vast amount of regret: that she couldn't give Gwen the life she truly wanted with her…that she would die with Rachel still hating her and fearing Gwen…

…from inside…Olivia could hear humming the whirring of machines…

…Her final thoughts were of Walter and then Peter. A surge of regret that she had never got to make that dinner for him she promised the night she was taken. He would never know how grateful she was… She knows that he was the reason she survived everything that she did. It was too much for her. Why didn't she show him more appreciation…more affection?

One of the labcoats was at the controls waiting for the machine to warm up. In a few seconds it would finally be ready to activate a green flash in the reactor that would fry Olivia from her insides.

"Begin energy blasting sequence in three…" Mark coughed. "Two…"

A quick tiny flash of green. A loud blare. Olivia collapsed from a sudden wave of heat

"INTRUDER! INTRUDER! INTRUDE-"

The voice was robotic and then a loud whirring noise.

Outside of the reactor, the machines began to shut down. Some of the guards immediately responded to the intruder alarm and ran out. The others remained in the room confused, not knowing what to do. The unexpected power failure caused a surge frying all the electronics in the room.

Gunshots could be heard coming from outside.

"We have to get out of here!" The guards quickly began to assist Guinevere in getting her out of the room.

"Well, what about…"

"There's no time. We have a bigger crisis on our hands! Hurry!"

A searing pain continued to consume Olivia as she listened to the yelling outside. She could barely move. As the silence settled in…it finally occurred to Olivia that for some odd reason, she was still alive. She had cheated death by a mere fraction of a second.

Her hand reached out to touch the wall even though she couldn't see. It was, in fact, a door. The electrical surge caused the door to come loose. Using all the strength she had left, Olivia pushed the door open and squirmed her way out. She was now alone and in the dark in that small room but gunshots, alarms, and shouts were still going on from outside.

This was her only chance…

…

Just inside the main building, Peter silently planning to kill Ziegler. It didn't matter whether or not he knew about the alarms…Peter just felt like cursing under the extremely stressful situation he was trapped in right now.

The measly little gun that Peter had was worthless against these guys, but aside from managing to take out their power grid the moment he broke in, Peter did have one other advantage. He was sneaky. And in the dark, sneaky was always a good thing as it allowed him to slip pass many people unnoticed.

…

Olivia forced herself to stand as she stepped outside again and used her strength to run back into the main building. Despite all the chaos, Olivia knew her primary objective as she stormed the building. She was going to get Gwen…get Gwen and get the hell out.

Once she got in, she had a close call with one distracted gunman. But she got lucky. One swift kick and the man was down…the rifle was hers…

It was going to get personal now…God help anyone who got in her way…

She ran down the darkened hall, until she stopped…

Footsteps had rushed past her from behind.

Quickly she turned around and pointed her rifle around the stairwell she ran past seconds earlier. A small window reigned daylight from above the stairwell. Just enough for Olivia to see a figure trying to head down the stairs.

She didn't wait for him to turn and attack as she cocked the rifle…aiming...

"DON'T MOVE!!!"

The man obeyed. She waited for him to turn around but for some reason, he seemed transfixed on the blurry wall mirror infront of him…almost shaking. Olivia thought, maybe he could see that she was a woman and he was afraid to die at her hands.

He put his arms up in the air and slowly turned to reveal his unarmed self to Olivia.

Slowly, Olivia's whole self began to shake. The gun was still in her hands. Her limbs were unable to move as she stood looking at the man just feet away from her. Her mouth was wide open in shock and disillusionment.

The man just stood there, gazing at her before offering her a familiar smirk and a calm, comforting reply…

"Wouldn't dream of it, Sweetheart."


	38. And it all comes down to this

I'm so excited about finishing this story. Yes I should be studying for the three finals for my stupid vocational school that I have tomorrow. Can you believe I'm making this fic a priority over school?! Well it's a stupid work school that I'm not even going to voluntarily. In fact, I was only in school for two classes today then I bailed out and headed on over to a Starbucks to write this whole chapter, baby! Hey, you guys deserve it and don't worry. I'm not gonna fail nor care if I do fail my tests tomorrow! I want this thing to be done and so do you.

Here we go…the big finish…

_**-----------------------------------------------------------------**_

Peter took a few steps towards her. Seeing that she still wasn't moving, he gently placed his hand on top of Olivia's gun and lowered it for her.

Instead of putting it away, Olivia let the gun loosely fall out of her hands.

She had been quick…incredibly quick…to wrap her arms around him.

He was stunned the moment their lips crashed with one another. But when it became clear that he wasn't going to let go…

They pulled themselves against the wall of the stairwell and for the next few minutes, they were unaware of the darkness and the chaos they were slab straight in the middle of.

They parted at the same moment to catch their breath. Olivia could barely find the words. "What are you…doing here?"

Peter breathed "seems I was destined to be here."

She didn't know what the meant…she didn't care. Peter grabbed her arm and pulled her up the stairs.

There was a sudden explosion and the building began to shake. Peter swung Olivia behind a corner narrowly avoiding being seen by a large group of armed guards, who were running down the hall. The shooting to come seconds later became immense.

"Damn," said Peter. "Looks like Ziegler's arrived."

"He's here?"

"We came here through a portal. We got to get to the woods."

Peter was about to pull Olivia along but she quickly stopped him. "I can't leave Gwen!"

Another explosion. Small bits of debris were now raining the halls.

"Hey!"

They turned around to find several guards approaching them from behind.

"Sh*t," said Peter.

"I can hold them off."

"Liv…"

She pushed Peter down one end of the darkened hallway. "Near the end, corner door. I'll meet you both in the woods."

"Liv…"

She pushed him in the general direction of where would be and then turned back toward the approaching guards, pulling out her gun.

'_What the f*ck?'_ Peter thought as he started running down the hall. He just lost her again. What if she didn't make it to the woods in time? Apparently it didn't seem to matter to her. And Peter was left with an incredibly difficult decision that him unable to move for a whole minute.

He almost turned back…but then he finally accepted: if he didn't try to save Gwen, Olivia would never be able to forgive him.

So he dashed down the darkened hallway.

He found the corner door and kicked it open. The building began to shake more and more. The chandelier above him began to swing in all directions.

With all the rumbling, he almost didn't hear the cry. It was coming from the smaller room...tucked away and curled up with a face so red in the corner.

"Gwen?"

Peter had to gently get her to recognize him. "Pe'er!"

"Yeah, Slimy." He picked her up. "Come on, we're getting out of here."

After hearing a strange crash, Peter turned around and was shocked to find Mark standing there with a gun pointed at Peter. Gwen began to cry and scream again.

"What the f*ck do you think you're doing here?!"

Peter looked at Mark and smirked. "It just so happens I'm from here…and now everything's gone to hell with your place. Ziegler said something about this happening if I showed up."

Mark's eyes widened in fear and confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"As hard as it is to believe, I don't even know."

Mark readied his gun. Gwen began to scream even louder.

"AH! F**K!!!" Mark screamed and slowly fell to the ground before he could pull the trigger.

Peter looked down at Mark as he writhed in pain. A red stain was growing on one leg of his pants. The gun was quickly removed from Mark's hands as Peter looked back over at Gwen. He couldn't explain it but for some reason he knew that Gwen was doing this.

He had to shake the thought out of his head. Quickly, he grabbed Gwen, ran past a bleeding Mark and out of the quarters.

When they got out into the hall however, the ceiling in the hallway began to collapse. Peter quickly stopped to shield the kid.

When it was over, a massive pile of bricks rubble blocked the way back down the hall.

"LIV!"

He was stupid to think that she would answer. He could only hope that she left this area long before the collapse happened.

So Peter and Gwen had to find another way out.

…

In the midst of fighting off countless guards she kpet running into, Olivia found herself ducking for cover from flying debris and explosions. She was almost completely trapped. The only way out she could find was to take the staircase and go up.

She went up to the second floor, or what was left of it anyway. Fires were starting to spread, and there was very little for her to walk around…or even on.

Her hope that there would be some sort of escape route seemed to fade. But then as she got halfway down the hall, she heard voices.

"Set timer to 30 minutes."

Olivia got passed the flames but the smoke was getting very intense. She was losing her balance and was practically on the ground. A strange light could be seen just a few feet away. She crawled over until found a hole leading into the floor below and looked in.

She didn't expect to look down into a room, a room where Guinevere herself was there with two other men. They were surrounding a strange metal barrel.

One of the guards spotted Olivia and pulled out his gun. Olivia got hers out and bullets started flying. Olivia lost her balance and fell into the hole crashing to the ground painfully bringing small bits of burnt debris with her. The guards were about to shot again.

"STOP!!!"

They stopped. "Hold your fire or you might hit the bomb."

Olivia would've passed out right there on the floor if she hadn't heard the word "bomb". She stood up and found herself standing between Guinevere and the strange metal barrel. "What is this?"

"This…," said Guinevere. "…is the end. We can't let Ziegler get away with any of our possessions from here. The prophecy of our destruction is sadly coming true."

On the bomb was a timer, now somewhere at 27 minutes.

"This should wipe out everything stretching as far as the woods."

Olivia began to watch the bomb counting down. She could only pray that Peter and Gwen had made it out and were long gone.

One of the guards turned to Guinevere and asked "What do you want done with her, Guinevere?"

The old woman sat in her wheelchair for endless seconds lost in thought…it almost seemed like she was about to fall asleep. Finally, a soft mumble came. "Let her go…"

Olivia didn't move. She didn't believe what Guinevere was doing. "Turn right when you go out and you will enter the back of the kitchens. There should be an exit door there. Now go."

"Are you…" said Olivia. "Are you all just going to stay here and die?"

"I am," said Guinevere. "I don't know about my guards."

One of the men said "we'll stay with you to the end."

"Thank you." She turned to Olivia. "You should be going now. I just had a vision of a friend of yours right outside with a little girl…a girl who's looking for her mother."

The thought of Gwen was enough to put an end to Olivia's hesitation and she quickly went to the door.

"Forgive me," said Guinevere. "For putting all of this on you. You were right. Gwen was meant to have a normal happy life. Give her the life I never got to live, will you?"

She took one last glance at Guinevere…a brief exchange of mutual understanding. Olivia was not a fan of leaving people to die whether or not they did deserve it, but she knew that the souls that she left behind in the room weren't going to budge.

She turned right and headed for the kitchens…

…

"I WANT MOMMY!"

"She's meeting us. Now stop kicking me!!!" Peter had a hard time balancing between running, avoiding flying bullets, and carrying a kicking and screaming Gwen. They dove behind what looked like a jeep that had been turned over the moment Peter heard an explosion behind them. Fortunately only minor debris went past them.

When Peter looked up, Ziegler was standing on top of the jeep, looking down at the man and the kid.

"Oh thank god," said Peter. "Have you seen Liv? Is she okay?"

Ziegler took the gun in his hands and pointed it at Peter. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"Sorry, Bishop. But despite what help you've been, you're still other-world scum. I prefer that you did not come back with us."

Gwen started to scream again. Even though Ziegler had no intention of hurting the child, she was still scared that he was going to kill Peter.

Before he could pull the trigger, an unusual blur of orange flew at Ziegler. A roar and blood-curdling scream.

All the remained afterwards, was the bottom half of Ziegler collapsing to the ground.

Before Peter and Gwen, Musko was viciously treating himself to a meal of what was once Ziegler's upper half.

Whatever this giant orange and black-striped lizard-looking thing was standing before them…it made Peter grab Gwen and get away as fast as he could before the twist creature of science was ready to eat them as well.

He didn't get very far. Something flew at him and struck him from behind…debris maybe. He was knocked down to the ground and Gwen fell out of his arms. The soft grass protected her when she landed.

Looking back, Gwen could hear lots of popping and see lots of flames.

"Mommy?"

She climbed over the unconscious Peter and began to waddle her way closer to the smoke and fir.

"Where are you mommy?!"

She climbed into a recently created opening and found herself back inside of the main buildin, in a very dark room lit only by the fire that surrounded. Her vision became blurry as smoke began to fill the room. But still, she continued to move forward.

…

Olivia had made it to the kitchens. It didn't take her very long to find the exit door. But as she put her hand on the handle, a sudden bad feeling was sinking in. She couldn't explain it, but for some reason, she wasn't ready to escape just yet.

Something seemed to be compelling her to look back, but all she saw was one room to her right, being engulfed in black smoke.

She could hear screaming in her head both telling her to get out AND to go towards the black smoke. But her eyes seemed more interested in the latter.

Her feet began to move towards the black smoke…all logic and reason lost to an unexplainable but unyielding feelings in her gut.

She crouched low, shielding her mouth and nostrils as she venture into the heart of the massive smoke clouds.

Soon, she knew she had become delusional because now she was hearing someone calling out for what sounded like 'mommy'.

The black smoke made it impossible for her to find her way whether she wanted to turn back or not.

Soon her eyes began to play tricks, she could see what look like a small life form crawling through the black smoke in her direction. Olivia couldn't believe it until she was compelled to call out for her.

"Gwen!!!"

"Mommy!!!"

The little girl tried to stand up but she was starting to feel very dizzy.

"STAY DOWN!!!" cried Olivia. "Don't breathe the smoke!!!"

Her hand reached out desperately searching in the dark until she finally felt her daughter. She kept her down until she could finally see her.

There was no time to think. Olivia was already ripping her shirt, nearly taking the whole thing off and covered Gwen's face with it.

Despite putting greatest efforts it became more and more difficult to crawl her way through the dark, deadly smoke and shield Gwen at the same time…especially when she started to feel dizzy.

…

Peter felt two things when he woke…pain, the ickly bloody wound on the back of his head as he placed his hand on it. His ears started to ring. For countless minutes everything around him seemed warbled.

When his mind became clear again. He looked around and realized that Gwen was gone.

"DAMMIT! GWEN!"

There was no sign of life in the direction of the woods. All of the action was still taking place around the compound.

He freaked out as he got closer to the building again. With no idea as to where Gwen might have gone to, all seemed lost…until he heard a strange banging.

It was coming from a window not too far away. When Peter got closer to the window all he could see was black from all the smoke…

…And then the sudden appearance of a hand hitting the glass made Peter jumped. The hand slowly slid down and disappeared from view.

He didn't stop to question it. Peter just grabbed the nearest bit of brick that he could pick up with one hand and threw it against the window.

He ran to the now broken glass and fighting the escaping smoke, his worst fears were realized.

Olivia was on the other side, half-standing half-leaning over a kitchen counter underneath the window. Gwen was lying under Olivia's arm. Neither of them were breathing.

Peter quickly pulled Gwen out first and rushed her over to a spot far away from the building but close enough for Peter to hurry back. He quickly took the cloth that covered Gwen and Peter opened her mouth. "Breathe! Come on!"

He applied pressure to the little girl's chest. So God help him, if she wasn't breathing…

An awful painful cough was fighting it's way out of very small lungs. Peter didn't have time to feel relief.

"STAY HERE THIS TIME!!!" Peter called out as he was already running back. He pulled Olivia out and dragged her back to Gwen. Olivia was barely stay conscious but at least she was trying to breathe. Peter kept patting her back encouraging her to keep coughing out the bad smoke.

"Ba'h."

Peter was confused. "What?"

"Ba'h…bomb."

They both arrived at Gwen's side. Olivia knees caved in as she pulled Gwen into her arms. It almost seemed surreal that they both made it outside and both were just barely breathing. Peter tried to pull them both up as Olivia seemed to be losing strength to get up under her own power.

"Bomb…," Olivia cried. "We gotta go!"

Olivia held Gwen to her chest giving it all she got to keep up with Peter as they ran through the fields. The guns were still going off behind them. It was all up to Peter to ensure that all three of them to made it to the edge of the forest. He kept pushing and pulling Olivia along despite how weak she was. Determined to not give up when they were so close.

The trees were quickly in sight, but then the vision changed and all Peter could see was white.

He quickly shoved himself and Olivia to the ground, face down. They knew what was coming and it only made Olivia shield Gwen even more.

A loud bang. A massive gust of wind. It was like a tornado…a quick speedy tornado shooting past them.

They lied there for a little longer. Peter swore he could feel his back burning.

He rolled himself over. He could no longer see golden fields, or blue skies…

…Only darkness and flames.

Olivia could see it too. With the woods just feet away Peter reached a hand out to Olivia's back. They weren't safe just yet. "Come on!"

They had to crawl beneath the rising clouds towards the now scorched trees.

The first trees they reached out to became their support line as Peter and Olivia pull themselves deeper and deeper into the woods.

Olivia was almost losing her grip with Gwen struggling to remain in her grasp. She was unaware of Peter as he kept pulling and pushing her up the hill.

Eventually, they had to take a break. They collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. Olivia looked out passed the trees were the compound once stood…now a giant black crater surrounded by a bluish-gray earth.

Some of the trees they walked past were already on fire, but thankfully there was no wind. As long as all three of them kept moving…they would make it.

"Liv?"

Peter came over and held Olivia. "I'm sorry, I think we're lost." Olivia wrapped her arms around Peter. A silent assurance that everything would be okay. If they were going to die here, at least she would die with the two beings she cared the most by her side.

They had nothing left now but to at least try to keep going.

Gwen peaked out from underneath Olivia and happily looked back towards the dead plains.

"Look mommy! Musko!"

To Peter and Olivia's surprise, a familiar orange and black-striped creature was stalking through the now lifeless land. Even from here, Peter could chillingly see the creature was dragging a charred corpse in his mouth.

Peter blinked. "You know that thing?"

"Let's take him with us!" Gwen said excitedly.

Olivia gave her daughter a weak assuring smile. "It's alright, baby. Musko's a big kitty…lizard…I think he can take care of himself."

Gwen was disappointed but Olivia only smiled at her…then at Peter.

They would be okay…

…

It got even darker.

Peter still had no luck finding the portal and Gwen was getting more and more upset.

Judging by the darkness, night had already fallen on them. It would be even harder now to find the damn portal and Gwen was still struggling to breathe normally. What if the portal had already closed?

"Peter?"

He turned to Olivia. "What is it? Is she okay?"

"Gwen's fine…I…I thought I saw a light up there."

Peter looked the same direction Olivia was looking at. "I don't see anything, Liv."

Olivia eyes widened. "There! There it is again."

She carried herself and Gwen past Peter who couldn't understand why he couldn't see what she could see. "Follow the flashing blue light."

"I don't see a blue light, Liv!"

"Just follow me, then!"

Peter stood there dumbfounded until he saw Olivia was moving faster. He quickly caught up with her at the top of the hill.

"I don't believe it!"

The grayish looking entrance was there, revealing a flat land with an old sawmill just straight ahead. The three of them looked at the gray-tinted screen before them with fascination.

"So," said Olivia. "Do we just walk through?"

Peter smiled at her and took her hand in his.

Together, they stepped into the screen until they were all on the other side.

The forest around them was suddenly gone.

_**--------------------------------------------**_

_**Epilogue to be posted tomorrow. **_


	39. Epilogue

**_Oh my god…_**

_**I can't believe it! I'M FREE!!! FREE AT LAST FROM THIS CRAZY STORY I CANT BELIEVE I CONJURED UP!!!!!**_

_**Hahaha!!! Now that I got that out of the way. Let's get to the closing statements. **_

_**Despite the rush to finish this fic one day prior to the premiere (in the U.S. anyway) I'm very proud of this fic and feel very accomplished because of it. I say just about nearly everything I intended this story to have when I first conceived it made it in. I did have plot bunny since the early episodes of the show but I held out the whole year and I'm glad I did cuz by the time I started I knew pretty much where the whole thing would start and how it would end so that really helped me out a lot from the get go. **_

_**My only regret is that I can't write romance very well or at least not in a fic like this. Try not to hate me for the lack of fluff. I enjoy reading the stuff but it seems icky to me when I write it! :) But I enjoyed what I did with the Peter-Olivia-Gwen dynamic here (hard to believe I actually wrote a baby fic to begin with). I was thinking of doing a series of one-shots associated with this fic. That would be a good way for me to make up for lack of fluff here if ya like that.**_

_**I find it hard to believe that this is the longest fic I've ever written (and the biggest one in the Fringe section for now) and that I actually effin finished it in 3.5 months. What a record! Hopefully that will get me writing practice so I can actually write something original and profitable. But I cant help it, I effin love writing Fringe fanfiction.**_

_**And now: the reviewers. I can't believe people actually read this fic, LOL. Every one of you deserves my thanks but I think the biggest thanks must go to the top 5 big reviewers of this fic. They are:**_

_**Wjobsessed**_

_**Goladyvols**_

_**Ocein**_

_**MrSuperCzar**_

_**Skate815**_

_**THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU**_

_**I look forward to reading more of your work in the future as you will mine. :) So don't feel bummed about this fic being over (like I am…just a 'lil). I'll be back to work on "Growing Up in the Dark" after the premiere. **_

_**Have a Happy Season 2 tomorrow everyone! We'll see what the season holds for me in the fic department. I have a feeling I will need a whip to keep the giant plot bunnies at bay. **_

_**No more rants…this is the end!!!!**_

_-------------------------------------------------_

**Epilogue**

'_Man, that kid can sleep through anything.'_

It was rough ride back to Boston but Gwen had been fast asleep the moment they boarded the private jet.

Olivia had been in the back on the phone with Broyles. Hard to believe that this was the first time they had spoken in months. It seemed like she hadn't been gone for that long.

When she came back with a blanket for Gwen and tucked her in while she slept. Peter was sitting opposite of them. And Olivia had caught him looking with that big smirk all over his face.

She quietly approached him and gave him no words, only deep affectionate kisses that were unknown to anyone around but them.

"I…," said Peter. "I thought you needed your space. I should've said something a long time ago."

"It's alright, Peter."

"But you went through so much and…"

Olivia stopped him and smiled. "You were there with me the whole time, through everything. I can't believe you survived two weeks of Gwen without me. How did you do it?"

"I think babysitting Walter all the time gave me practice. But it's okay…I enjoyed the challenge."

For the rest of the plane ride home, Olivia remained in the arms of the only man who truly did save her since all of this began.

~*~*~*~

"Eww, it's squishy!" Gwen was poking her fingers at the spiky slug.

"Gwen, get away from that!" Peter picked her up quickly. "Aw great, she's gonna get a catch a cold from that thing. Put it back, Walter."

Walter sighed a bit disappointed that Peter would let his pets enjoy a little free time out of their confinements. "Where's Agent Dunham," he asked. "She didn't run off and dumped the child on you, did she?"

"No, she went to New York to see Nina."

"I see," said Walter. "Best be careful with your spendings then, Peter. She might coerced you into paying child support."

Peter looked confused. "What?"

"I was just saying…" said Walter. "These things happen when you have an illegitimate child. Strange how she's grown in the three weeks since you brought her here. I hope it's not that pesky super-aging technique from my super soldier studies."

"Walter…this is Gwen. Don't you remember her? She's not my kid."

"Oh," said Walter. "I'm very sorry to hear that. Hard to believe that Agent Dunham should waste her perfectly good womb to incubate someone else's brood."

"One more word Walter and I swear to God…I will murder you over and over!"

Gwen waved her icky hands infront of Peter. "Pe'er, I got icky on me."

"Damn it," he took her over to the sink and got her to wash her hands of the slimy residue from the slug.

"You are good with children, Peter," Walter said nervously. It was oddly random and yet very logical of Walter to say…especially given how long Peter's been playing sitter for both the old man and the kid. He never thought of himself as more than that. He tried to not think about it. The routine that had been set in place was carefree and enjoyable. He got to Olivia and Gwen everyday, got to spend lots of time with them too. With the exception of a few bumps in the road, Peter knew that the mom and kid pair could take care of themselves.

He would like to give them more…so much more than he's already provided for them. _'It's too soon,' _he thought. It would take time for such an idea to become a reality.

It was probably a stupid idea anyway.

~*~*~*~

Olivia looked at the two DNA sheets: one belonging to Gwen, the other belonging to a woman who was born in 1865. The DNA prints were 100% identical. So were two matching pairs of fingerprints. Not a single line out of place.

"You'll have to forgive me for taking this long," said Nina. "I had to run tests again many times to make sure but Guinevere's background checked out. Her people must've had some sort of age longevity drug for her to live as long as she did."

"I saw a lot of strange things over there," said Olivia.

"Well nothing surprises you…to think that you have a little girl who could've inherited amazing abilities that could've alter the factor of existence. She could've weaved the Pattern to her own desires if she had wanted to."

"Weave?"

"Of course…the Pattern itself is like the pattern on a quilt. Lots of threads that would take forever to weave and requires lots of threads and people to mend it. You can keep going with it as long as you like. But now that the Guinevere Cult is gone I think the Pattern will remain as it is. There won't be anymore to add except for what is still left to be discovered, am I right Agent Dunham?"

"So…were they really the creators?"

"Who is to say? They do have centuries of scientific discoveries on their side and they've displayed a lot of their talents through her, your child."

Olivia pulled a small piece of paper from her pocket and slid it over to Nina. "I'm returning your check. Your obligation to Bell to keep us alive is no longer needed."

"While that's true," said Nina. "I'm still inclined to feel a little charitable." She pushed the check back in Olivia's direction. "I'm building a school you know? A private academy for exceptionally talented minds and I don't mean a school for children of special powers. It is a school for children who wish to learn about the deeper realms of science known to only people like you or I…and for children who desire a future pursuing such ideas. There's already a place in it for Gwen…so there is plenty of time for you to consider what to do with a child as gifted as Gwen. Or do you still not trust me?"

"I believe you…," said Olivia. "I believe that you would never associate yourself with something like that."

"Good," said Nina.

"Anything else you want to spoil us with?"

"No…but I did notice one thing. You never used the infant formula I delivered to your place. You breast fed her, didn't you?"

Olivia was now feeling very awkward and confused. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Everything actually. Guinevere was to transfer herself into her clones by brainwashing them. But it required them to feed on a special brainwashing chemical that would make them detached from everything except their destined role as a master of science. The very moment she fed from you, Gwen made a bond to you that became instantly permanent. She made herself resistant to their control over her and no science they possessed in the world could've reversed that. Strange how in the end maternal nature became more powerful than their science."

Olivia heard a low growl. She was in disbelief when she saw a familiar creature walk into the room. It approached Olivia and began to rub itself against Olivia's leg, purring like a cat…a very large cat.

"Ah, Musko. Come to Mumsie." The orange and black-striped lizard walked away from Olivia and went behind the desk to be next to Nina. Her fingers scratched the back of the creature's neck near the sparkling diamond collar that Nina got for him.

She turned to Nina. "Still, they did create fascinating things over there, didn't they?"

~*~*~*~

Ever since they returned home, Gwen had few tears to shed. With Guinevere dead, Gwen was liberated from the intrusions of the cult into her mind. She was spared from having to inherit very deadly powers, however there was still the matter of her Cortexiphan abilities she inherited from Olivia when she was pregnant with her. Those would remain but they would be controlled. Olivia would do her best.

Olivia had reconciled with Rachel upon her return. Hopefully Ella would've gotten over her wound and would become a great cousin to her daughter…her daughter. She still found it hard to believe that this could be permanent. That Gwen, whom Olivia did not deserved, was hers to keep for good. She still felt guilty about the first year, that she let her suffering take away from truly loving this child. But Gwen knew only unconditional love for Olivia and that would never ever change.

"Can I ask you something, mommy?"

Olivia sat on the bed by Gwen's bedside. "Okay, then."

"You said I didn't want to be that lady's clone…but…what's a clone?"

"Um…well a clone is someone who is created to be exactly like someone else."

"Well," said Gwen. "I didn't want to be like her anyway."

Olivia smiled. "That's good." Her hands were charging at Gwen's sides. "Cause there can only be one of you!"

The laughter was deafening but joyful. "Mommy! Ah!" Gwen kicked at the sheets to escape from Olivia's evil evil tickling but to no avail. Olivia had too much power over her. "Pe'er, save me!"

Peter had been at the door of the bedroom watching the family that he come to truly adore. "I dunno, Slimy. I'd help ya but I'm scared your mom might hold me down too."

"Okay, I'm done torturing you." Olivia released Gwen. "Kiss goodnight?" Gwen stood up and gave Olivia a kiss on the cheek and then quickly got under the cover before Olivia tried to come after her again.

"Mommy?"

"Yeah, baby?"

"Is Pe'er staying here with us?"

Olivia turned to the door and saw that Peter was gone. No he wasn't really gone. She knew that he was just in the living room waiting for her, like he always would. He had no plans to leave. He had already made himself inescapable part of her life, as Gwen did the moment Olivia took her home from the hospital.

"Do you want him to stay?" Olivia asked Gwen.

"Ew no!" said Gwen. "He wouldn't save me from you."

"Hey," said Olivia. "That coward might be your daddy someday. What do you think of that?"

"Pe'er my daddy?" Gwen thought about it. "Too weird!"

Olivia laughed and kissed Gwen on the forehead and said, "Don't worry. Just wait when it happens. You'll learn to love it."


End file.
